i LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,! 
i — ^a # 






, I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | 






OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE: 



A PRACTICAL TREATISE 



GARDEN AND VINEYARD CULTURE 



THE VINE. 



By JOHN PH I N. 







NEW YORK: 
GEO. E. WOODWARD & CO., 31 BROAD STREET; 

ORANGE JUDD CO., 245 BROADWAY. 
1876. 



TTS^- 



Copyright, 1876, by 
Geo. E. Woodward & Co. 






6^ 



CONTENTS 



MM 

Preface, iii 

Bibliographical Note, List of Works on, or relating to the Vine, . ix 

Chapter I. — Natural and Civil History of the Vine. . 17 

II. — Choice of Soil, 30 

Situation, .36 

Aspect, 39 

Necessity for Protection from Wind and Storms, . 40 

III. — Preparation of the Soil, 50 

Draining, 50 

Trenching, * . 55 

Subsoil Ploughing, 55 

Manuring, 59 

Terracing, 60 

Construction of Vine Borders for Gardens, . . 65 

IV. — Planting the Vines, 76 

Time to Plant, 77 

Choice of Plants — Distance Apart, . . , .79 

Marking off the Ground, 80 

Digging the Holes, 83 

Taking up the Plants, 84. 

Setting them out, -.86 

Staking, 90 

After-culture, 91 

v 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAQB 

Cn after V — Care of Vines during the First, Second and Third 

Years, 92 

Mulching, 95 

Laterals, 96 

Winter Protection, 97 

Management during the Second Year, . . . 98 
Management during the Third Season, . . . 100 

VI — Management of Fruiting Vines, 104 

Winter Protection of the Fruiting Canes, . . . 105 

Summer Pruning, 108 

Thinning the Berries, 118 

I'll. — bUBSEQUENT MANAGEMENT OF THE VlNE, . . . 120 

VIII. — Theory and Practice of Pruning and Training as 

APPLIED TO THE GRAPE VlNE, 127 

IX — Construction of Walls, Trellises, Etc., . . 158 
Effect of Walls, 159 

X.— Propagation of the Vine, 175 

Layering, 175 

Cuttings, 180 

Eyes, 186 

Grafting, 187 

Budding, 194 

Seed — Hybridization, 196 

XI. — Manures and their Application to the Vine, . 202 

Sources of Manures, 203 

Effects on the Vine, 209 

Liquid Manure, Mode of Producing and Principles of 
its Application, . . . . . . .215 

XII. — Diseases and Insects, . . . . . . .225 



CONTENTS. VI] 

PAGB 

Chapter XIII — Methods op Hastening the Maturity of the 

Grape, 231 

Hand Glasses, 231 

Wall Glasses, 232 

Keversing the Bunches, 234 

Ringing or Girdling, 234 

XTV — Care of Old Vines, 241 

XV. — To Preserve Grapes 247 

The Ohio Vineyard System, 250 



THE MANUFACTURE OE WINE. 



PAO& 

Extracts from Letters from Mr. Jefferson, late President of the 

United States, 2:4 

Manufacture of Wine in the South of England, t 256 

Manufacture of Wine by Mr. Longworth and others, .... 20S 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GRAPE CULTURE. 



TnE subjoined list contains all the principal works whicfr 
have been consulted in the preparation of the following treatise. 
Having made the study of the subject a specialty, we have been 
at considerable pains to collect all the works relating to vine 
culture of which we could find any account, and although there 
are several important omissions in the list given below, yet it is 
believed that their place is tolerably well supplied by those of 
which titles are given. As our attention has been chiefly 
directed to open air culture, we have intentionally omitted some 
excellent English works. The French, however, possess soino 
valuable treatises which w r e regret having been unable to obtain 
and a still greater source of regret has been that we have been 
unable to use the many fine works possessed by the Germans. 

It was suggested that this list be prefaced with a short article 
on the bibliography of grape culture, or at least that the pecu- 
liar features of the works mentioned be indicated. But we found 
ourselves incompetent to the former, and the latter would have 
occupied a space disproportionate to its importance in a prac- 
tical treatise. It is hoped, however, that the list given will not 
prove useless to those who desire to extend their inquiries be- 
yond the narrow limits of the present work, and from the assist- 
ance which we ourselves have frequently derived from similar 
catalogues, we feel confident that this hope is not ill founded. 
It may be added, in conclusion, that many works have been con- 
sulted and used of which no mention is made, simply from the 
remoteness of their general bearing upon the subject. Thus 
the figure of the oi'dium is taken from Pouillet's "Traite da 



Xll BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

Physique," and is, we believe, the only thing in all the three vo- 
lumes of that work which at all relates to vine culture. 

Having no desire to preface our work with a mere catalogue 
of our private library (as we have seen done more than once), 
no work has been mentioned which it will not repay the reader 
to consult. On the general subject of the "Theory of Horti- 
culture," Lindley's work has been our guide and our standard, 
and for our chemical facts and principles we have relied upon 
the work of Gmelin, published by the Cavendish Society of 
London, in twelve volumes, as we have always found it most 
full and reliable. 

But in selecting a course of reading with a view to advance 
his knowledge of grape culture, the student must bear in mind 
that so varied, complex and intimately connected are all the 
operations of nature, that the facts which have a bearing upon 
any portion of them, are to be found in books which professedly 
treat of the most diverse subjects. Chemistry and mechanics 
are alike important ; the principles which govern the relations 
of heat, light, and electricity, exert a more or less important 
influence on all vegetation, and he who would be fully master of 
the subject, must aim at an extent of knowledge only to be 
found in the widest range of scientific reading and experiment. 

Abercrombie, John, Practical Gardener. London. 

Adlum, John, Memoir on the Cultivation of the Vine in America. Wash- 
ington, 1828. 

Allen, J. F., Practical Treatise on the Culture of the Grape. New York, 
1S58. 

. the same, Boston, 1849. 

American Cyclopaedia. New York, 1858, continued. 

American Pomological Society, Transactions 1852, 1854, 1856, 1858. 

Barry, Sir Ed., Observations on Wines. 4to. London, 1775. 
Barry, P., Fruit Garden. New York, 1855. 
Bernay, A. J., Household Chemistry. London, 1854. 
Blodgett, Lorin, Climatology of the United States. Philadelphia, 1857. 
Bordeaux Wine and Liquor Dealer's Guide. New York, 1851. 
Boussingault, J. B., Rural Economy. London, 1855. 
Bradley, R., Survey of Ancient Husbandry and Gardening. London. 
1725. 



BIBLIOGEAPllY OF GRAPE CULTURE. Xlli 

Bfidgemau, Thomas, Young Gardener's Assistant. New York, 1857. 
Brown, J. D., Sylva Americana. Boston, 1832. 

Trees of America. New York, 1851. 

Field Book of Manures. New York, 1855. 

Buchannan. R., Culture of the Grape and Wine Making. Cincinnati, 185-» 

Buist, R., Management of the Grape Vine. New York, 1856. 

Busby, James, Visit to Vineyards of France and Spain. New York, 1835. 

Carnell, P. P., Treatise on Family Wine Making. London, 1814. 
Carpenter, W. B., Use and Abuse of Alcoholic Liquors. Philadelphia, 

1855. 
Chaptal, C, Traite sur la Vigne et l'Art de faire Vin. 2 vols., Paris, 1801. 

The same, translated in Philosophical Magazine. 

Chemistry applied to Agriculture. Hartford, 1854. 

Chorlton, fa, American Grape Grower's Guide. New York, 1856. 

The Cold Grapery. New York, 1853. 

Cole, S. W., American Fruit Book. Boston, 1849. 
Coleman, Henry, European Agriculture. Boston. 
Country Gentleman. Albany (published weekly). 

Dana, S. L., Muck Manual. New York, 1856. 

Davy, Sir H., Agricultural Chemistry. London, 1827. 

Davy, John, Ionian Islands. London, 1842. 

De Bow, J. B. D., Industrial Resources of South and West. New Chi- 
leans, 1852. 

Review. New Orleans. 

Decandolle, N. P., Physiologie Vegetale. 3 vols. Paris, 1832. 

Dempsey, G. D., On the Drainage of Districts and Lands. London, 1854. 

Don, George. General System of Gardening and Botany. 4 vol3., 4to., 
London, 1838. 

Donaldson, Treatise on Clay Lands and Loamy Soiis. London, 1854. 

Donovan, Michael, Treatise on Domestic Economy and Wine Making 
London, 1830. 

Downing, A. J., Fruits and Fruit Trees of America. New York, 1853. 

the same, revised by C. Downing. New York, 1857. 

Du Breuil. Cours Elementaire d'Arboriculture. Paris, 1857. 

Elliot, F. R., Fruit Book. New York, 1854. 

Western Fruit Book. New York, 1859. 

Ellis, Robert, Chemistry of Creation. London, 1850. 
Encyclopaedia Americana. Philadelphia, 1834. 
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 8th edition, Edinburgh, 1852-6D. 
English Cyclopaedia. London, 1854. 



XIV BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

Fentwanger, Lewis. Fermented Liquors. New York, 1858. 

Fitch, Asa, Report on the Insects of the State of New York. 

Flint, C, Agriculture of Massachusetts. Boston, 1858. 

Floy, M., Guide to Orchard and Fruit Garden. New York, 1852. 

Forsyth, Win., Culture and Management of Fruit Trees. London, 1802. 

French, Art of Distillation and Manufacture of Liquors. London, 1657. 

Gardener's Chronicle. 19 vols., London, 1841, continued. 

Gardener's Monthly. Philadelphia, 1859, continued. 

Gardener's Monthly Volume. London, 1849. 

Genesee Farmer. Rochester, N. Y. (j)ublished monthly.) 

Gmelin, Leopold, Handbook of Chemistry. 12 vols., London, 1848-58. 

Graham, Thomas, Elements of Chemistry. 2 vols., London, 1858. 

Gray, Asa, Manual of Botany. New York, 1858. 

Systematic and Structural Botany. New York, 1858. 

Guide to Importers and Purchasers of Wines, with a Topographical Ac- 
count of all the known Vineyards in the World. London, 1828. 

Hannan, John, Economy of Waste Manures. London, 1844. 
Harris, Joseph, Rural Annual, 1857, 8, 9. Rochester, N Y. 
Harris, T. W., Report on the Insects o f Massachusetts injurious to Vege- 
tation. Cambridge, 1841. 
Hoare, Clement, Treatise on the Grape Vine. New York, 1850. 
Homans, J. S., Cyclopaedia of Commerce. New York, 1858. 
Hooker, Journal of Botany. 4 vols.. London. 
Horticulturist, 1846-1859. 
Hovey, C. M., Magazine of Horticulture. 

Jacques, Geo., Practical Treatise on Fruit Trees. Worcester, 1849. 
Johnson, Geo. W., The Gardener. 3 vols., London, 1849. 

Dictionary of Modern Gardening, edited bv Landreth. 

Philadelphia, 1857. 
Principles of Practical Gardening. London, 1S45. 



Johnston, James F. W., Lectures on the Applications of Chemistry and 
Geology to Agriculture. New York, 1S58. 

Chemistry of Common Life. 2 vols., New York, 1855. 

, Notes on America. 2 vols., Boston, 18 — . 

Johnson, S. W., The Culture of the Vine. New Brunswick, N. J., 1806. 
Jullien, Topographie de tous les Vignobles connus. Paris, 1816. 

Kendrick, Wm., New American Orchardist. Boston, 1848. 
Kollar, V., Treatise on Insects injurious to Farmers and Gardeners. Lon 
don, 1840. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GRAPE CULTURE. XV 

Ladrey, M. C, Ckimie appliquee a la Viticulture et a l'CEnologie. Paris, 

1857. 
Liebig, J., Complete Works. Philadelphia, 1S5G. 

Letters on Modern Agriculture. New York, 1859. 

Liebig and Kopp, Annual Report on the Progress of Chemistry and tho 

allied Sciences. London, 1S47-1850. 
Liiidley, Theory and Practice of Horticulture. 2d edition, London, 1855. 

the same, edited by A. J. Downing. New York, 1852. 

Loudon J. C, Encyclopaedia of Gardening. London, 1850. 
Gardener's Magazine. 16 vols. 

Manures, Practical Treatise on. Society for Diffusion of Useful Know- 
ledge. London, 1830. 
McCulloch, Remarks on the Art of Making Wine. London, 1817. 
Mcintosh, Charles, Book of the Garden. 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1855. 
McMahon, Bernard, American Gardener's Calendar. Philadelphia, 1859. 

the same, Philadelphia, 1806. 

McMullen, Thomas, Hand-book of Wines. New York, 1853. 
Meteorological Observations made in the State of New York from 1826 

to 1850. Albany, 1855. 
Meteorological Register, State of New York. 
Miller, Philip, Gardener's Dictionary. Large folio, 1759. 

the same, 4 vols., folio. 1807. 

Morewood, Samuel, Essay on Meliorating Liquors. London, 1824. 

Mulder, C. J., Chemistry of Wine. London, 1857. 

Chemistry of Animal and Vegetable Physiology. Edin- 
burgh, 1849. 

Muy-prati, Sheridan, Chemistry applied to Arts and Manufactures. Glas- 
gow, 1858. 

Natural History of the State of New York. 19 volumes, Albany. 
Neil, Patrick, Practical Fruit, Flower and Kitchen Gardener's Coaii' 

panion. New York, 1856. 
*> wrthern Fruit Culturist. 

Odart, Comte, Ampelographie Universelle. Paris. 185-1. 
Manuel de Vigneron. 

Patent Office Reports. Washington, D. C, 1837-1858. 
Pereira, Jonathan, Treatise on Food and Diet. London, 1844. 
Perzofl, Nonveau Systeme de Culture de la Vigne. Paris. 
Philosophical Magazine (Tilloch's). 97 vols, London, 1798, continued. 
PriU.ee, W. R., Treatise on the Vine. New York, 1830. . 

— Treatise on Horticulture. New York, 1828. 

Pomological Manual. New York, 1832. 



XVI BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GJJArE CULTURE. 

Quarterly Journal of Science and Art. 30 volumes, London, 181G-1SS0. 

Redding, Cyrus, History and Description of Modern Wines. London, 

1S51. 
Reemelin, C, Vine Dresser's Manual. New York, 185G. 
Register of Rural Affairs. Alban}', L. Tucker, 1855-1S59. 
R«ndu, Ampelographie Franchise. Paris, 1857. 
Rural New Yorker (weekly). Rochester, N. Y. 

Sckenck, P. A., Gardener's Text Book. Boston, 1852. 

Scliow, J. F., Earth, Plants and Man. London, 1852. 

Silliman; B., American Journal of Science and Art. New Haven, Cfc., 
1819-1858. 

Smeed, Wine Merchant's Manual. London, 1828. 

Skinner, John S., Journal of Agriculture. 3 volumes, New York, 1848. 

Speedily, William, Treatise on the Culture of the Vine, and the forma- 
tion of Vineyards. 4to., London, 1790. 

the same, 8vo., 1821. 

Solly, Edward, Rural Chemistry. Philadelphia, 1S52. 

Somerville, Mary, Physical Geography. Philadelphia, 1G53. 

Stockhard, Julius C, Chemical Field Lectures. London, 1858, 

Spooner, Alden, The Cultivation of American Grape Vines. Brooklyn, 
1846. 

Thayer, Albert, Principles of Agriculture. London, 1S45. 
Thomas, J. J., Fruit Culturist, Buffalo, N. Y., 1847. 

the same, New York, 1857. 

Transactions American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia, 17S9. 
Transactions of Society for Encouragement of Arts and Manufactures. 

London, 1783-1850. 
Transactions of New York Agricultural Society. Albany, 1842-1858. 
Transactions of New York Institute. Albany, 1241-1858. 
Transactions of Royal Horticultural Society of London. 8 vols. 1824- 

1840. 
Tucker, L., Register of Rural Affairs. Albany, 1855-1859. 
Tull. Jethro. Horse Hoeing Husbandry. London 1820. 

Urc, Andrew, Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines. New York 

1857. 
Dictionary of Chemistry. Edinburgh, 1324. 

Watson, American Home Garden. New York, 1859. 

Webster, Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy. New York, 1856. 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE, 



CHAPTER I. 

NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF TILE VINE, 

Profane history reaches not back to the time when 
man first planted a vineyard and made wine, and 
when we leave the sacred records, its first culture is 
shrouded in allegories, myths and fables. 

The native country of the vine cannot be well ascer- 
tained. It occurs wild in Greece, Italy and even in 
the south of Prance. In Mingrelia, Georgia and the 
regions between Caucasus and Ararat and Taurus, it 
flourishes in extreme vigor and great abundance. 
And that it is indigenous to America, also, there can 
be no doubt, the apocryphal stories about its intro- 
duction by Sir W. Raleigh to the contrary notwith- 
standing. 

Records of its culture are found in most of the 
poems and sculptures of antiquity. The shield of 

17 



18 0PE2F AIR Gil APE CULT LIKE. 

Achilles represented a vine-gathering, and Herodotus 
and Theophrastns speak of the culture of the vine in 
Egypt; and on the very oldest Greek tombs are 
found pictures representing the vine harvest. Pliny 
enters fully into the natural history 01 the vice, and 
describes a variety with berries shaped like the 
finger,* while the second book of Yirgil's Georgics 
forms no mean treatise on practical viticulture. 

The generic name of the vine (vitis) is derived, ac- 
cording to some authors, fiom the Latin vincire to 
bind ; according to others it comes from viere, to bend, 
alluding to the flexibility of its branches. Both these 

* Most of the authors who have noticed this variety, suppose it to 
have been lost, but we have received from John Kolber, Esq., of New- 
York, slips of a vine imported by him from Hungary, the fruit of 
which Is described as being an inch and a half long and half an inch 
in diameter — a form which might easily be described by an imagina- 
tive writer as resembling a finger. In fact the native name is Atc.fcss, 
caocs or Goals teats — an idea similar to that of the old philosopher, 
though not quite so elegant. We find also in several catalogues 
grapes called anger-grapes — synonyms of which are Cornichon Blanc, 
Cucumber Grape, Bee d'Oiseau (Bird's beak), Teta do Vacca (Cow's 
teats), Boigts Donzelle, etc., etc. Mr. Kolber has made earnest and 
praiseworthy efforts to introduce the hardier varieties of the vine from 
the hills of Hungary, and we are happy to learn that thus far, the 
results are exceedingly promising. It will take several years, however, 
to decide whether or not any foreign variety can be grown with 
success in this country, as most imported plants do well for a few 
years. 



NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE VINE. 19 

Latin words, however, are derived from a Greek word 
signifying to bind. Dr. Whittaker, in a work published 
in 1638, entitled, " The Tree of Human Life, or the 
Blood of the Grape," expresses his opinion that the 
name vinum is derived a vi from its strength, or, per- 
haps quasi divinum, because it is a species of the tree 
of life in Paradise. 

The species of the genus vitis are numerous, though 
botanists are not agreed as to the distinctive differ- 
ences, especially as between the European and Ameri- 
can sorts. In France, Chaptal, when Minister of the 
Interior, caused 1,400 different varieties of the vine to 
be collected in the garden of the Luxembourg, and 
under his direction M. Champagny described as dis- 
tinct 550 different kinds. Four American species 
have been usually numbered (some authors describe 
eight), though the varieties, more or less distinctly 
marked,'probably exceed 300. To the number of the 
latter, however, there is no limit, as every seed may 
produce a new variety. 

The vine lives to a great age and attains a great 
size. Pliny mentions a vine which had lived for 600 
years, and in Italy, vineyards have continued in 
bearing for 300 years, while in some parts of that 
country, a vineyard of 100 years is still accounted 
young. 

Its size, whether we regard the European or Ame- 



20 OPEN AIS GKAPE CULTURE. 

rican.varieties, is often very great. Speedily describes 
and figures a vine trained against a row of houses in 
Northallerton, Yorkshire, which covered a space of 
one hundred and thirty seven square yards, and had 
a stem three feet eleven inches in circumference at a 
short distance from the ground. No work on the 
grape vine would be complete without a mention of 
the great Hampton Court vine, from which George 
the Third once directed his gardener to cut one hun- 
dred dozen bunches of grapes, if so many were on the 
vine, and present them to the players of Drury-lane 
Theatre, who had greatly pleased him. The gardener 
not only cut oif this number, but sent word to the 
king that he could cut off as many more without 
entirely stripping the vine. This vine was planted in 
1769 and has a stem fourteen inches in girth, one 
branch extending nearly 200 feet. 

In America, too, very large vines are to be found. 
The following is clipped from the " Alta Californian : J? 

" At Monticito, four miles from Santa Barbara, 
there is a grape vine, probably the largest in the 
world. Its dimensions and yield would be incredible, 
were it not that my informant is a man of veracity, 
and he spoke from personal observation. It is a single 
vine, the main stock being ten feet in circumference. 
It is trained upon a trellis sixty feet in diameter. 
My informant with another person counted YO00 



NATUKAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE VINE. 21 

bunches, and the estimated yield was 18,000 pounds 
of fruit. Can this be beaten 1 The only thing 
that surprised me in the relation of my friend was 
that auy person in Santa Barbara should have 
displayed the energy necessary to build the trellis 
for this noble vine." 

In the " Horticulturist " for October, 1858, a vine 
growing near Burlington, New Jersey, is described 
as follows ; " In May last it was measured with the 
following result : Two feet from the ground it mea- 
sured 6 feet, 2i inches in girth ; four feet high it is 
about 6 inches less; it there divides into two branches, 
the largest of which is 3 feet, 3 inches in girth, and 
the smallest is 3 inches. The largest of the trees 
which the vine covers is 10 feet in circumference at 
two feet from the ground. The vine is very much 
decayed, but still puts forth leaves and young shoots. 
It has never borne a grape in the memory of a lady 
now 98 years old and who has lived her long life 
within sight, or nearly so, of this gigantic production, 
and to whom it was a wonder in her youth. The 
largest tree is a black oak, the others are black, or 
sour gum. On pacing the circumference covered by 
the branches, it was found to exceed 100 feet. 

" This vine grows near a springy soil, or upland, its 
roots, no doubt, penetrating to the water. May not 
this teach us a lesson, to give the rootlets, wherever 



22 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

it is possible, access to a spring, or running water ? 
It may be a question, too, whether we do not cut our 
vines too much. I have observed frequently in 
England that a whole house was devoted to a single 
vine, generally of the Black Hamburgh, and I think 
they uniformly bore the finest grapes. To carry a 
single vine over a large grapery would, of course, re- 
quire years of judicious trimming and management." 

The bunches and berries also have been known to 
attain a very great size. In the south of France 
instances are known of bunches attaining a weight 
of eight or ten pounds ; travellers in Syria mention 
bundles weighing 17 lbs. ; and we all remember the 
enormous clusters which the Jewish spies brought 
back from the promised land. Even at the present 
day the grapes of Damascus frequently weigh 25 
pounds to the bunch. 

"With all the vigor and fruitfulness evinced by 
such instances it is no wonder that the culture of the 
vine should prove profitable and certain. At the 
meeting of the Fruit Growers' Society for western 
New York, held in the city of Rochester in 1859, 
S. 11. Ainsworth made some statements as to the 
actual products of several vineyards, showing that 
from $1000 to $1500 had been realized from an acre 
of Isabella grapes. Mr. Rush, of East Bloomfield, 
had 100 vines on one-third of an acre, from which he 



MATUKAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE VINE. 23 

picked 4000 lbs., which he sold for $500, or at the rate 
of 12£ cts. per j^ound. None reported a less profit 
than $500 per acre. 

From the very first settlement of America the 
vine attracted the attention of the colonists, and 
efforts were made both to introduce the finer Euro- 
pean varieties and to cultivate the native sorts. Even 
as early as 1564, wine was made from the native 
grape in Florida, though, of course, in small quantity. 

The earliest attempt to establish a vineyard in the 
British North American colonies was by the " Lon- 
don Company " in Virginia prior to 1620. By the 
year 1630, the prospects were sufficiently favorable 
to warrant ihe importation of several French vigne- 
rons, who, it was alleged, ruined them by bad 
management. Wine was also made in Virginia in 
1647, and in 1651 premiums were offered for its pro- 
duction. On the authority of Beverley, who wrote 
prior to 1722, there were vineyards in that colony 
which produced 750 gallons a year. 

In 1664, Col. Eichard Nicolls, the first English 
governor of New York, granted to Paul Biehards of 
the city of New York the privilege of making and 
selling wine free of all duty or impost, Richards bar- 
ing been the first to enter upon the culture of the 
vine on a large scale. It was also enacted, that every 
person who should during the succeeding thirty 



Z± OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

years set out a vineyard should pay to Richards five 
shillings for every acre of vines so set out. We have 
been unable, however, to find any account of his suc- 
cess or failure, and the probability is, that after a 
short time the enterprise was abandoned. A gentle- 
man in Hoboken, also, had a fine vineyard which 
after a little time fell into decay. 

Beauchamp Plantagenet, in his "Description of 
the Province of New Albion," published in London 
in 1648, states that the English settlers in Uvedale 
(now Delaware) had vines running on mulberry and 
sassafras trees, and that there were four kinds of 
grapes. "The first is the Tholouse Muscat, sweet 
scented ; the second, the great fox and thick grape, 
after five moneths reaped, being boyled, and salted, 
and well -fined is a strong red Xeres ; the third, a 
light claret ; the fourth, a white grape, creeps on the 
land maketh a pure, gold-colored wine. Tennis Pale, 
the Frenchmen, of these four made eight sorts of ex- 
cellent wine; and of the Muscat, acute boyled, that 
the second draught will fox (intoxicate) a reasonable 
pate four moneths old ; and here may be gathered 
and made two hundred tun in the vintage moneth, 
and replanted will mend." 

In 1G83, William Penn attempted to establish a 
vineyard near Philadelphia, but without success. 
The same result attended the efforts of Andrew Dore 



NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE VINE. 25 

in 1685, but after some years, Mr. Tasker, of Mary- 
land, and Mi\. Antil, of Shrewsbury, N.J., seem to have 
succeeded to a certain extent. Mr. Antil wrote an 
excellent article on the culture of the grape and the 
manufacture of wine, which may be found in the first 
volume of the " Transactions of the American Philoso- 
phical Society," published in 1771. In this article, 
Mr. Antil describes only foreign varieties, from 
which it is to be inferred that he cultivated them 
chiefly, if not solely. 

In 1769, the French settlers in Illinois made one 
hundred and ten hogsheads of strong wine from 
native grapes. 

In 1793, Peter Legaux, a French gentleman, ob- 
tained of the legislature of Pennsylvania the incor- 
poration of a company for cultivating the vine. They 
purchased a farm at Spring-mill, Montgomery county, 
thirteen miles from Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill. 
For one year only were prospects favorable ; divisions 
and dissensions arose ; the stockholders sold out in 
disgust, and the vineyard went to ruin. 

At Harmony, near Pittsburg, a vineyard of ten 
acres was planted and cultivated by Frederick Papp 
and his associates from Germany. They afterward 
removed to another Harmony in Indiana, on the east 
bank of the Wabash, where they continued the culti- 
vation of wine and silk for many years. 



26 OPEN AIR GKAPE CULTURE, 

A Swiss colony settled about 1790 in Jessamin 
county, Kentucky, and raised a fund of ten thousand 
dollars for the express purpose of forming a vineyard. 
Their first attempts failed, they having cultivated the 
foreign vine. In 1801, they removed to a spot which 
they called Yevay, in Switzerland County, Indiana, 
on the Ohio River, forty-five miles below Cincinnati. 
Here they planted native vines and met with some 
success. But, after forty years' experience, they con- 
sider our climate and soil inferior to those of Switzer- 
land, as they claim that they can there make a gallon 
of wine from ten pounds of grapes while here twelve 
pounds are required. Their vineyards have now, we 
believe, nearly disappeared. 

But the great turning point of vine culture in 
America was when the Catawba grape was intro- 
duced by Major Adlum, of Georgetown, D. C, who 
considered that in so doing he conferred a greater be- 
nefit upon the American nation than he would have 
done by paying off the national debt. 

We could have wished to give an accurate view of 
the present state of the vine culture of this country, 
but the best works 'which we have been able to con- 
sult are very imperfect in this respect, and we believe 
that we have examined all the more important ones. 
"Want of time has prevented us from instituting a 
special correspondence on this subject. We can 



NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE VINE. 5^7 

therefore only say that it never at any period pre- 
sented a more flourishing aspect than it does at the 
present day. 

Of the future prospects of grape culture, of its 
extent, and of its influences, it would be difficult to 
speak. But we feel assured that, whether in the 
form of wine or of fruit, the produce of the vine can- 
not fail to do much good in this country — not the 
least of its benefits being that it will afford those with 
small capital an easy and pleasant mode of securing 
a competency. 

Another point in this aspect of grape culture, and 
one in which we have strong confidence and ardent 
hope, is the employment which it promises to afford 
to women. We are none of those who would desire 
to see woman rendered independent of man, for we 
well know to what a miserable condition man would 
come if rendered independent of woman, and it is a 
poor rule that will not work both ways. 

But we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that there 
are vast multitudes of women whose labor receives 
no adequate remuneration — who make shirts. at the 
rate of five cents apiece, and then often get cheated 
out of their pay. Now, if some of our large-hearted, 
as well as large-worded, philanthropists would pro- 
cure a few acres of land in some proper locality, and 
after having it well trenched or subsoil ploughed, 



feS OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

would let it out in half, or even quarter acre lots to 
industrious women with a view to their establishing 
vineyard plots, we think that after the first two years 
such an allotment of half an acre ought to yield 
its tenant from $250 to $400 per year, from which, 
after paying a good round rent, they might retain 
more than they can now make at any other employ- 
ment within their reach. And let it not be said that 
the culture of the soil is unsuited to the sphere of 
woman. We rather think that Eve was more of a 
gardener than shirt-maker before she "brought sin 
into the world and all our woe ;" and those who think 
gardening unsuited to woman are referred to Lou- 
don's remarks in the " Gardener's Magazine," where 
he recommends it to his fair countrywomen instead 
of the ball-room and the dance. 

We shall not stultify ourselves with referring to 
"Indian and European savages, who make the women 
do all the hard work, even though women are there 
found equal to the roughest agricultural labor. But 
in vine culture, after the first great effort has been 
made to get the soil suitably prepared, there is really 
little hard work to be done. Even hoeing does not 
require more strength than washing and scrubbing ; 
and pruning, trimming, and gathering the fruit are 
not above the strength of our weakest females ; and we 
promise them that if they undertake it they will soon 



NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE TINE. 29 

acquire the necessary health and strength. All that 
we can say is that we hope ere long to see the experi- 
ment tried, and nothing would afford ns greater 
pleasure than to give a lecture on vine culture, with 
experimental illustrations, to such a society of women, 
and tell them all we know about raising good grapes ; 
and we think we can point to others who are not 
only competent but willing to assist in the good work 
— thus rendering the objection that "women don't 
know how " of no avail. But even if no such experi- 
ment should be tried, we feel confident that the 
thousands of acres which will be devoted to vine cul- 
ture during the next few years will not be cultivated 
without affording abundant work for women 



20 OPEN A1E GEAPE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER II. 



SOIL. SITUATION AND ASPECT. 



Soil. — The vine will grow in almost any situation, 
and reach a large size and exhibit luxurious vegeta- 
tion under conditions apparently the most unfavor- 
able ; but L. healthy vines and fine fruit be desired, it 
is necessary to choose a soil where the roots can ram- 
ble freely, find plenty of nutriment and be safe from 
stagnant water and its accompanying cold, sour sub- 
soil. One of the largest vines in the country grows 
in a swamp in ISTew Jersey, and a vine has been known 
to grow vigorously from a cleft in an old wall twenty 
feet from the ground. But these are by no means 
examples to be imitated in practice where we have 
the power of selecting the site of our garden or vine- 
yard, though they afford encouragement to the 
amateur who is compelled to make use of an inferior 
location. 

The opinion of good $;. zpe culturists is that any 
soil which will grow goal Indian corn is suitable for 
grapes. Others describe a soil adapted to the cul- 
ture of the vine as one which will grow good winter 



SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. 31 

wheat without the plants "being thrown cut of the 
ground in winter. 

Downing recommends a " strong loamy or gra- 
velly soil — limestone soils being usually the best." 
And in another place he gives it as his opinion that 
" all that can be said of a soil for grape culture is 
that it be light, rich and dry." G. "W*. Johnson thinks 
a light, sandy loam the best. And Buchannan, who 
may be safely taken as the representative of the Cin- 
cinnati vine growers, recommends a dry, calcareous 
loam with a porous subsoil. At the rer mt meeting 
of the Fruit Growers' Society of westeri "New York, 
Dr. Farley stated that his best grapes had been 
raised on a clay soil, and that in this matter his 
opinion in regard to the soil best adapted to the cul- 
ture of grapes had undergone some change. 

It will thus be perceived that the opinions of our 
best horticulturists vary a little, but we believe that 
this variation is mere adaptation to the different modes 
of growth and training adopted by the various culti- 
vators. The purpose for which the grapes are raised 
■ — that is whether for wine or for the table — ought 
also to have a material influence in directing our 
choice of a soil. 

When the object is to manufacture wine, the vines 
require to be kept within moderate bounds ; all rank- 
ness of vegetation must be carefully avoided, and con- 



52 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

sequently the soil must be light, rich, porous and dry, 
and if calcareous so much the better. 

On the other hand, where high saccharine qualities 
are not so much desired as abundance of grapes of 
agreeable flavor, the vines will succeed better and pro- 
duce more certain crops if allowed a greater extent 
of growth, and in this case they will bear a heavier 
and richer soil — in some cases (as in growing Isabella 
and Diana grapes for the table) even preferring a 
clay soil well drained and cultivated and highly 
manured. 

That this view is correct may be easily proved by 
referring to well-known examples both in Europe 
and in this country. Thus in the Arriege in France 
a rich wine like Tokay, is obtained from mountain 
sides covered with large stones as if the cultivators 
had left all to nature. In Italy and Sicily the best 
wines are grown amongst the rubbish of volcanoes. 
" Good rich soils," says Redding, " never produce 
even tolerable wines." 

On the other hand the rich Chasselas de Fontaine- 
bleau table grapes are produced by vines planted in 
cold and heavy soil, well manured. And he who 
desires to find rich soil should examine the vine bor- 
ders of the English hot-house grape-growers. Allen, 
one of our most successful grape-growers recommends 
a border of the richest kind. So does Chorlton, and 



SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. Oo 

such we believe to be the practice of all our success- 
ful cultivators of the grape under glass. The cele- 
brated vine at Hampton Court revels in the luxury 
of an old sewer, and instances have come under our 
own observation where the proximity of a vine to 
a cesspool caused the production of large quantities 
of most excellent grapes. In France, the application 
of night-soil and sewerage to the vineyards has in all 
cases injured the quality of the wine. That such 
would have been the case, however, if the French 
vignerons had acted upon correct principles in the 
application of" these powerful stimulants, we are 
scarcely prepared to believe. And we have no doubt 
but that by judicious management and a careful 
observance of the laws of nature one of the greatest 
achievements in vine culture may yet be effected, viz , 
the union of vigorous vegetation and stimulating 
manures with the production of good wine. But so 
far as present experience extends the soil for a vine 
yard must be light and not too highly manured — and 
in all cases whether the object of culture be wine or 
table grapes the subsoil must be warm and loose. 
Cold borders are very prejudicial to the roots of the 
vine, and are supposed to be an efficient cause of the 
shanking of the grapes. It would appear from an 
inspection of the subjoined tables that this desired 
warmth might be secured to the surface soil at least 

9* 



M 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



by plentiful addition of lime and any black mold or 
charcoal. 

Maximum Temperatures of the various Earths 
Exposed to the Sun. By Schiibler. 



KINDS OF EARTH. 


Maximum Temperature of the 
superior layer, the mean tem- 
perature of the ambient air 
being 77 degrees F. 


Moist Earth. 


Dry Earth. 


Silicious sand, yellowish grey, .... 
Calcareous sand, whitish grey, .... 
Argillaceous earth, yellowish grey, 
Calcareous earth, white, ... ..... 


Degrees. 
99.05 
99.10 
99.28 
96.13 

103.55 
99.50 


Degrees. 
112.55 
112.10 
112.32 
109.40 
117.27 
113.45 



Table of Retention of Heat. By Bccqucrel. 



KIND OF EARTH. 


Capacity for heat, 
that of Calcareous 
sand being 100. 


Time required by 18 feet 
cube of earth to cool 
from 144.5 to 70.2, the 
temperature of the sur- 
rounding air being 01 .2. 


Silicious sand, 

Argillaceous earth, .... 

Mold, 


100 
95.6 
68.4 
61.8 
49 


Hours, 
3.30 
3.27 
2.24 
2.10 
1.43 



From these tables it will be seen that black mold 
receives or absorbs heat most rapidly, but parts with 
it in the shortest space of time also, and that for 



n.K 



SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. UO 

receiving and retaining heat, dark colored, calcareous 
earth is by far the most efficient. Good silicious sand 
comes next in order, and hence we conceive that a 
soil composed chiefly of calcareous and silicious sand, 
with a sufficient amount of charcoal or mold to give 
it a dark color, would prove one of the best for 
grapes. 

Such are the general points deserving of considera- 
tion. Those desirous of studying more minutely the 
influence of the chemical constitution of the soil 
upon vines growing therein will find an interesting 
and valuable resume of the subject in M. Ladrey's 
"Chimie applique a la Viticulture," whose general 
remarks on this point are so much in unison with our 
own experience and observation that we are tempted 
to translate them. 

" If now we examine the series of different soils 
devoted to the culture of the vine in France and in 
other countries, we shall find this plant cultivated in 
soils the most diverse, not only as regards their 
natures (nature evidently alluding to physical consti- 
tution — Trans.) — "but also their chemical composition. 
All soils appear suited to the culture of the vine, and 
there are none, unless those absolutely barren, in 
which this plant may not grow and develop itself. 
Thus the vine requires but little fertility in the soil, 
it covers a great space of land which would bo 



3G OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

imsuited to any other culture, and in order to give an 
idea of this, we may cite the ancient regulations of 
Provence which prohibited the planting of the vine 
until inquiry had been made as to the sterility of 
the soil, and the permission of the intendant of the 
province had been obtained. 

But if the vine can grow in all soils it behaves 
very differently in each, of them. In strong, argilla- 
ceous, rich soils, it will acquire a great vigor of vege- 
tation, the wood is largely developed, the product is 
abundant ; on the contrary, in soils poor, light and dry? 
the vine is less robust, more delicate ; it requires a 
culture well contrived as to even the most minute 
details, and the product is much less in quantity. 

•' In general, if in any locality the vegetation of the 
vine be more rich as the soil is more fertile, we 
observe by the side of this result that the nature and 
quality of the product is consequently in an inverse 
ratio. In heavy land the vine is well developed and 
furnishes abundant return ; in alight soil it gives less 
and the product is of higher quality." 

Situation. — The situation of a vineyard should be 
elevated, but not too high, otherwise the vines will not 
only be exposed to high winds and their concomitant 
evils, but will also be subjected to a lower tempera- 
ture. On this latter point, but little is known — at 



SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. 37 

least not enough to enable us in all cases to reconcile 
the anomalies which occur. Enough is known, how- 
ever, to cause us to avoid the tops of hills and the 
bottoms of valleys, and it may be worth our while to 
consider a few of the principles which regulate tem- 
perature in these situations. During the night, the 
cold air, being heavy, settles clown into the valleys 
and hollows, thus producing in such locations a 
temperature several degrees lower than is found on 
the sides of the adjacent hills. And no influence is 
then at work to disturb this state of things, for the 
earth itself is becoming rapidly cooled by radiation ; 
and if a small quantity of the air should become 
warmed by contact with it, it immediately ascends, 
and cool air takes its place. 

At daybreak, hoAvever, an agency is introduced 
which reverses this condition of things. Then the 
dense air in the valleys concentrates and absorbs the 
heat of the sun's rays and increases their effect upon 
the soil, wdiich in turn imparts heat to the stratum of 
air lying next it. This lower stratum of air being 
warmed and consequently rendered much lighter than 
the colder portion above it, it ascends, but as it rises 
it also expands still more, which in some measure 
compensates for the heat which it received from the 
earth. The same process keeps going on until night 
comes, when the lower stratum of air being no longer 



OS OPEN AIR GUAP^ CULTCKK. 

warmed it no longer ascends, and the colder and 
heavier air airain accumulates in the valleys. Thus 
it will be seen, that during the night the air in the 
valleys is colder than that in other places, while the 
reverse is the case during the day. The stillness of 
the air in valleys and sheltered situations also con- 
tributes to this result in a remarkable degree. 

!Now it is obvious, that if for any fruit tree, the air 
in the valleys should be sufficiently cold to kill the 
buds, no orchard could succeed. And if, on the 
other hand, sufficient light and heat to ripen the fuit 
could not be found on the hill-tops, such situations 
also would be unavailable. 

Nor is the mere existence of such extremes of 
temperature the worst evil, The destructive influ- 
ence of a hot sun upon frozen vegetation is well known, 
and in low valleys, the circumstances are such as to 
give the greatest effect to this adverse influence. For 
not only are the plants chilled by the extra cold night- 
air, they are also completely protected from the rays 
of the sun, until it has attained a greater power than 
it usually exerts at its first appearance upon plants in 
more exposed situations. And then, owing to the 
dense atmosphere through which they pass, the rays 
strike suddenly with concentrated energy so as to 
thaw the buds with a rapidity completely destruc- 
tive to their vitality. In such situations also, the soil 



BOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. 31) 

is usually very deep and rich, producing a vigorous 
though succulent growth which is unable to with- 
stand the influences above detailed. Ail experience 
bears out the practical value of these principles. 
Thus, in Italy, where the country is undulating and 
very much broken, all good wines are grown on the 
hill-sides. Hence Virgil tells us 

" denique apertos 

Bacchus amat colles,"* 

and modern experience bears out the ancient saw, 
though it does not follow, however, that plains will not 
produce good wine-making grapes, provided they be of 
sufficient extent to obviate the evils just described. 
The fine wines of the Gironde in France, and Chataux 
Margaux, Lafitte and Latour, are grown on the plains. 

Aspect — Exposure. — The aspect which is best 
adapted to the growth of grapes will, of course, depend 
upon influences, some of which at. least, are liable to 
vary, as the keenest and most destructive winds may 
come from different quarters in different places — a 
very slight geographical change sometimes making 

* The force of this saying is lost by adopting Mr. Reddingfa trans- 
lation " Bacchus loves the hills." Davidson gives the whole, " Bacchus 
loves the open hills" — which is better. But the true meaning 
" BacchusJoves the open little hills" coincides perfectly with expe- 
rience and with the principles above set forth. 



40 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

an important difference in this respect, owing to pe- 
culiar topographical features. Thus a range of hills 
or a belt of woods, may so deflect the prevailing 
winds, as to completely change the condition of two 
localities situated within even a very short distance 
of each other. 

In general, it will be found necessary to secure pro- 
tection on the west, north and northeast. This may 
be afforded either by natural local features, as by a 
range of hills, or it may be derived from artificial 
sources, as woods or fences. No defence is better 
than a good belt of Norway spruce, and if they form 
a crescent in which the vineyard is embowered, but 
little clanger need be apprehended from violent winds. 
Even high fences, which may be single, double or 
triple, afford amole protection in ordinary cases, and 
as trees, even of the fastest growing kind, take a con- 
siderable time before they give sufficient protection, 
many will prefer the fence. We are therefore tempted 
to extract from the " Horticulturist" for August, 
1847, Downing's description of the method by which 
Frederic Tudor, Esq., has converted the naked pro- 
montory of Nahant into a luxuriant garden. . 

u To appreciate the difficulties with which this 
gentleman had to contend, or as we might more 
nroperly say, which stimulated all his efforts, we 
must recall to mind that, frequently, in high winds 



SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. 41 

the salt spray drives over the whole of ISTahant ; that 
until Mr. Tudor began his improvements, not even a 
bush grew naturally on the whole of its area ; and 
that the east winds which blew from the Atlantic in 
the spring are sufficient to render all gardening pos- 
sibilities in the usual way nearly as chimerical as cul 
tivating the volcanoes of the moon. Mr. Tuclor's 
residence there, now, is a curious and striking illustra- 
tion of the triumph of art over nature. 

" Of course, even the idea of a place worthy of the 
name of a garden in this bald, sea girt cape, was out 
of the question, unless some mode of overcoming the 
violence of the gales and the bad effect of the salt 
spray could be devised. The plan Mr. Tudor has 
adopted is, we believe, original with him, and is at 
once extremely simple and perfectly effective. 
******** 

" It consists merely of two, or at most three parallel 
rows of high open fences, made of rough slats or 
palings, nailed in the common vertical manner, about 
three inches wide, and a space of a couple of inches 
left between them. These paling fences are about 
1G feet high, and usually form a double row (on the 
most exposed side, a triple row) round the whole 
garden. The distance between that on the outer 
boundary and the next interior one is about four feet. 
The garden is also intersected here and there by tall 



42 OPEN AIK GRAPE CULTURE. 

trellis fences of the same kind, all of which help to 
increase the shelter, while some of those in the inte- 
rior serve as frames for training trees upon. 

" The effect of this double or triple barrier of high 
paling is marvellous ; although like a common paling, 
apparently open and permitting the wind a free pas- 
sage, yet in practice it is found entirely to rob the 
gales of their violence and their saltness. To use 
Mr. Tudor's words, ' it completely sifts the air.' After 
great storms, when the outer barrier will be found 
covered with a coating of salt, the foliage in the 
garden is entirely uninjured. It acts, in short, like a 
rustic veil, that admits just so much of the air, and in 
such a manner as most to promote the growth of the 
trees, while it breaks and wards off all the deleteri- 
ous influences of a genuine ocean breeze, so pernicious 
to tender leaves and shoots.' 

"It is worthy of record, among the results of Mr. 
Tudor's culture, that two years after the principal 
plantation of his fruit trees was made, he carried off 
the second prize for pears at the annual exhibition of 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, among dozens 
of zealous competitors, and with the fruit most care- 
fully grown in that vicinity." 

Of the necessity for shelter under circumstances far 
less desperate than those at Nahant, no good horti- 



SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. 43 

culturist lias any doubt. Even the oak-tree lias 
been proved by a well directed series of experiments, 
to be benefited by shelter in the comparatively mild 
climate of England. Eor the rationale of the evil 
effects of wind on plants in general, we must refer 
the reader to Lindley's " Theory and Practice of Hor- 
ticulture." The following cases are detailed by Hoare : 

" Many instances might be circumstantially de- 
tailed of the injurious effects of wind upon established 
vines during their summer's growth ; two, however, 
of recent occurrence will perhaps suffice. 

" On the eleventh of June, 1 833, a strong wind 
sprang up early in the morning from the west, and 
increased in force till noon, when it blew quite a gale 
and continued to do so throughout the day. It slack- 
ened a little during the night, and gradually de- 
creased in violence the next day, dying entirely away 
in the evening. 

"The effects of this wind on a vine of the White 
Muscadine sort, trained on a wall having a western 
aspect, were carefully observed. It had on a full 
crop of fruit and a good supply of fine young bearing 
shoots, and was altogether in a most thriving condi- 
tion. Such, however, were the injurious effects of 
the wind in dissipating all the accumulated secretions 
of the foliage, and then closing, almost hermetically, 
its pores, and thereby totally deranging the vita 7 



44 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

functions of the plant, that although in the height of 
the growing season, not the slightest appearance of 
renewed vegetation could be discerned in any part 
of its leaves, shoots or fruit, until the third day of 
July, or twenty-two days afterward. It never pro- 
duced another inch of good bearing wood throughout 
the remainder of the season, but lingered in a very 
weak and sickly condition ; and the fruit which had 
been previously estimated at ninety pounds 1 w T eight, 
did not exceed fifty-live pounds when gathered, and 
that of a very inferior description in point of flavor 
and size of berry. Its leaves, also, having been thus 
crippled, were shed prematurely a month before their 
natural time, and hence the deficiency in the flavor 
and size of the grapes. 

" The other instance, which happened shortly after- 
ward, is still more decisive. On the 30th of August 
following, about eight o'clock in the evening, a strong 
wind began to blow from the southwest, accompanied 
with heavy rain. At nine it blew violently, and con- 
tinued to do so until noon the next day. It then 
slackened, and then veering to the northwest, died 
away some time during the following night. 

" The full force of this wind fell on a remarkably 
fine black Hamburg vine, trained on a wall having a 
southwestern aspect, and its effects were therefore 
proportionately destructive. Many of the principal 



BOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. * 45 

brandies were torn so completely from their fasten- 
ings that their extremities swept the ground. The 
bunches of fruit were knocked about, and portions of 
them, as well as single berries, lay scattered on the 
ground in every direction. On the fruit, however, 
that survived the wreck, the effects of the wind were 
remarkable. It must be stated that the wall on 
which the vine is trained, is ten feet high, and is so 
situated that to the height of about three feet from 
the ground the wind had but little power over it, its 
force being broken by an outer wall standing at a 
little distance off in front of it. On the lower part of 
the wall, so protected, the grapes not having been 
much injured, began to change their color and ripen 
about the twentieth of September, and on the twelfth 
of October every berry was perfectly matured, while 
all those that remained on the vine above three feet 
from the ground, were, on the first of November, as 
green and hard as on the thirtieth of August, when 
the high wind occurred. Shortly afterward these 
began to change their color, and ultimately ripened 
tolerably well by the first week in December. Thus, 
solely through the effects of a strong wind, there 
were to be seen at the same time, on the same 
branches of this vine, and within nine inches of each 
other, bunches of grapes, the lowermost of which 
were perfectly ripe, while the uppermost were quite 



16 * OPEN AIR GRxVPE CULTURE. 

green and hard, and not within seven weeks of reach- 
ing the same state of maturity. 

" These facts, which might be multiplied indefinitely, 
sufficiently show the injurious effects of strong winds, 
and the necessity of protecting vines as much as pos- 
sible from their destructive consequences." 

But although there can be no doubt as to the evil 
effects of wind storms, it must be borne in mind that 
ventilation, and even motion, are essential to the 
health and growth of the vine. Experiments made 
by Andrew Knight, show that young trees tied to 
stakes so as to prevent all motion, do not increase in 
size as much as those left to the free action 
of wind. Hence, perhaps, one reason why wire is to 
be preferred to wood for the cross slats of trellises. 
In the northern States, however, we in general have 
wind enough for all useful purposes. But in view of 
these facts, we would rest content with shelter out- 
side of the vineyard, and unless in very exposed situ- 
ations we would not deem it advisable to place either 
trees or fences amongst the vines. 

But while we can guard against wind and storms 
by belts of woods or high fences, there are other in- 
fluences which we cannot thus alter. Chiefly among 
these is the exposure of the sun's rays. 

Exposure is, in general, derived from one or both 
of two causes. First, the inclination of the ground, 



SOiX, SITUATION AND ASPECT. 47 

and, secondly, its openness and freedom from over- 
shadowing influences. A wall is a good illustration 
of the latter — the north side having a northern expo- 
sure, and causing fruit planted against it to ripen at 
a much later period than that planted on the south 
side, which has a southern exposure. The little 
raised mounds or flower-beds, to be found in every 
garden, exhibit the influence exerted by the inclina- 
tion, of the earth — the vegetation on the south side 
being usually some days earlier than that on the 
north. 

For vineyards, the best exposure is undoubtedly a 
southern one, slightly inclined toward the east, or at 
least fully protected from the west, and also from the 
early morning rays. " It has often been observed 
that woods or thick trees, buildings, high, broad 
fences, or steep hills, on the east side of peach 
orchards, protect the crop. Hence the erroneous 
opinion, that it is the east winds which do the dam- 
age. It is the sunshine upon the frozen buds which 
destroys them; hence a clouded sky, after a clear 
frosty night, by pre venting sudden thawing, some- 
times saves a crop. Covering trees of rare kinds 
with mats, to shade them from the morning sun, 
after an intensely frosty night, might sometimes be 
highly beneficial." (Thomas.) 

In this connection, it may be proper to consider 



48 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

the best direction for the trellises on which the vines 
are trained. We have often seen a north and south 
direction advised nnder the idea that the vines thus 
receive the sun's rays for a longer time. But the 
evils attached to this plan are great and insurmount- 
able. In the first place, the vines receive the full 
force of the early morning sun which, striking the 
young leaves while still cold, and it may be partially 
frozen, is productive of the most injurious effects. 
Then as the day progresses toward noon,, the vines 
are so shaded as not to receive the amount of heat, 
which they would gladly enjoy at that time, while 
toward evening again their excitability is greatly 
increased and is kept up until the last moment, instead 
of the exciting influence being quietly withdrawn as 
it ought to be. 

But if we give our trellis a direction from east to 
west, instead of from north to south, the vines will 
expose but a small surface to the first rays of the sun 
which will thus warm them gradually, until it attains 
its meridian splendor, when it will exert ' js full power 
and then gradually decline until e^ ening, when 
everything will gradually cool down. Sudden 
changes are thus avoided, and the full powei of the 
sun is secured in the ripening of the grapes. 

Intimately connected with the foregoing subjects, 
are the laws which regulate the influence oC tempe- 



SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. ill 

rature upon vegetation. These aij stated by M. De 
Candolle, as follows : 

1. All other things being equal, the power of each 
plant and of each part of a plant, to resist extremes 
of temperature is in the inverse ratio of the quan- 
tity of water they contain. 

2. The power of plants to resist extremes of tem- 
perature is directly in proportion to the viscidity of 
their fluids. 

3. The pow^-r of plants to resist cold is in the 
inverse ratio of the rapidity with which their fluids 
circulate. 

4. The liability to freeze, of the fluids contained in 
plants, is greater in proportion to the size of the cells. 

5. The power of plants to resist extremes of tem- 
perature is in a direct proportion to the quantity o£ 
confined air which the structure of their organs give 
them the means of retaining in the more delicate 
parts. 

6. The power of plants to resist extremes of tem- 
perature is in direct proportion to the capability 
which the roots possess of absorbing sap less exposed 
to the external influence of the atmosphere and the 
sun. 

From this it will be obvious that all rank growth 
and succulent vegetation should be avoided where 
the desired object is to obtain hardy vines. 



f*0 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTUHE. 



OHAPTEK III. 

PREPARATION OF THE SOIL AND FORMATION OF VINE 
BORDERS. 

Having selected a proper site for a vineyard, the 
next step will be to prepare the soil for the reception 
of the young vines. It is rarely if ever that ground 
can be found in a condition fit to plant a vineyard 
without thorough and extensive improvements, and 
unless it be in proper order our hopes of success will 
end in failure and disappointment. 

In our remarks on soil it was stated that one abso- 
lute necessity is a dry subsoil. ~No other good quali- 
ties can compensate for the want of this, and in most 
cases.it is only to be obtained by thorough draining. 

The first great evil obviated by thorough draining 
is the existence of stagnant water beneath the sur- 
face. It is a saying amongst vine-dressers that " the 
vine cannot bear wet feet." And nothing can be 
more true. If the roots be exposed to stagnant water 
they will become diseased and die off, thus giving 
rise to weak and ill-ripened though sometimes succu 
lent growth, and hence causing the vine to suffer from 






PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 51 

tlie attacks of disease and insects. The grapes, loo, 
will not ripen well, bnt will remain sour and ill -fla- 
vored. 

M. Gasparin gives the following observations with 
regard to the influence which a dry or a moist soil 
exerts upon the grape : " Other things being equal, 
we obtain grapes which contain much sugar and lit- 
tle acid from vines grown in a dry soil ; more free 
acid in a moist soil, and much acid, albumen and 
mucilage with little sugar in a soil which is absolu- 
tely wet." 

Another advantage consists in the fact that well- 
drained land always possesses a higher temperature 
than that which is wet. This difference amounts to 
10° to 12° Fah. and is accounted for by the rapid 
absorption of heat by the water as it becomes con- 
verted into vapor. During this process, too, it is pro- 
bable that the nascent vapor robs the earth of a por- 
tion of the ammonia and gases which it would have 
separated from the water and retained if it had acted 
as a filter and the water had passed off by the drains. 
But however this may be, its effect on temperature 
is such that Johnson regards thorough draining as 
equal to a change of climate. 

But not only does draining enable the soil to filter 
all the water which descends upon it, retaining its 
ammonia, gases and even salts ; it is probable that by 



52 (XPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. 

these means the excrementitious matters discharged 
by plants, as well as other noxious bodies are washed 
out of the subsoil or decomposed by contact with the 
air which penetrates along with the water. In the 
case of oxide of iron it is probable that a very 
beneficial effect results from its conversion from the 
protoxide to the peroxide by means of this influence. 

But a change in the chemical constitution and 
action of the soil is not the only effect of this opera- 
tion ; a no less marked alteration is produced in its 
mechanical character — heavy lands being rendered 
light, porous and permeable to the roots of tender 
plants. 

It is unnecessary here to give minute directions for 
performing such a well-known operation, so we shall 
merely refer our readers to some of the numerous 
treatises on that subject. An excellent article on the 
theory and practice of draining will be found in the 
" Rural Annual " for 1859 published at the office of the 
" Genesee Farmer,'' Rochester, 1ST. Y. 

We may state, however, that in laying drains for a 
vineyard, it should be borne in mind that after the 
vines are planted it will be almost impossible to get 
at the drains in case of accident, without serious 
detriment to the plants. It will, therefore, be well to 
construct them in the most substantial manner and 
also to arrange them so that they will not lie imme- 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 53 

cliately under any of the rows of vines. If they are 
between the rows it will not be so difficult to get at 
them as if they lay directly beneath the plants. 

The next great requisite in a soil for the culture of 
the vine is depth. Ordinary soils of from eight to 
ten inches are by no means deep enough. Twenty 
inches is the least depth to be relied upon, and, if 
very favorable results are desired, it should be made 
three feet. The subsoil to this depth should be 
thoroughly loosened, and, unless its quality is very 
inferior, it may be well to mix it with the surface 
soil — adding at the same time a good supply of 
manure or compost. We are aware that some horti- 
culturists object to bringing up the subsoil, but wo 
incline to the belief that if it is of such a character as 
to produce much injury, the site is unfit for a vine- 
yard. When the subsoil is light (except it be pure 
sand) no harm can result. If it be pure sand, how- 
ever, it had better remain where it is unless a suffi- 
ciency of clay can be found to mix with it. If, on 
the other hand, it be so clayey as to hermetically seal 
up the vine borders, we should prefer to let it remain 
under. But, if possible, a site should be selected 
where a good depth, of tolerable soil may be obtained 
either naturally or by proper effort. 

The advantages incident to depth in ordinary cases 
consist in the roots being placed alike beyond the 



54 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

extreme heat of summer and the severe cold of win* 
ter. Consequently they do not suffer from drought, 
and are able at once to enter upon their duties in the 
spring. 

For table grapes, we doubt whether the soil can 
be too deep or rich — not meaning by the latter term, 
however, saturated with undecomposed organic mat- 
ter. But observation leads us to doubt the propriety 
of carrying these features- to an extreme in the case 
of closely-trimmed vines cultivated for wine. It is 
true that the Western authors (Remelin, Buchannan, 
etc. — some of them Europeans) adv r ocate this depth 
and richness. But, if our memory does not deceive 
us, some of Mr. Longworth's tenants who have not 
pursued the most thorough system of cultivation 
have occasionally escaped evils to which their more 
skillful and hard-working brethren have been ex- 
posed. And perhaps a solution of this mystery may 
be found above, notwithstanding Mr. Longwortli 
naively tells us that he cannot believe that nature 
ever favors the indolent. Our own experience in 
this particular department is not sufficient to warrant 
us in pronouncing a decided opinion on the subject; 
but the principles of physiology would lead us to be- 
lieve that if the roots of vines are planted in a deep 
and rich soil the branches must be allowed corres- 
ponding elbow room. If we desire to keep a vigorous 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 55 

plant down we must starve and curtail its roots as 
well as use the priming-knife on its branches. 

There are two methods of deepening a soil, viz : by 
the subsoil plough and by trenching with the spade. 
Both these operations are too well known to require 
a minnte description, though in regard to the latter 
there are so many and such contradictory directions 
given in books that we may be pardoned a few re- 
marks in relation thereto. 

In order properly to trench a piece of ground the 
directions given by Loudon are as explicit and judi- 
cious as possible. " Trenching is a mode of pulveriz. 
ing and mixing the soil, or of pulverizing and chang- 
ing its surface to a greater depth than can be done 
by the spade alone. For trenching with a view to 
pulverizing and changing the surface, a trench is 
formed like the furrow in digging, but two or more 
times wider and deeper ; the plot or piece to be 
trenched is next marked oif with the line into parallel 
strips of this width ; and beginning at one of these, 
the operator digs or picks the surface stratum, and 
throws it in the bottom of the trench. Having com- 
pleted with the shovel the removal of the surface 
stratum, a second, third or fourth, according to the 
depth of the soil and other circumstances, is removed 
in the same way ; and thus, when the operation is 
completed, the position of the different strata is 



56 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

exactly the reverse of what they were before. In 
trenching with a view to mixture and pulverization, 
all that is necessary is to open, at one corner of the 
plot, a trench or excavation of the desired depth, 3 
or 4 feet broad, and 6 or 8 feet long. Then proceed 
to fill the excavation from one end by working out a 
similar one. In this way proceed across the piece to 
be trenched, and then return, and so on in parallel 
courses to the end of the plot, observing that the face 
or position of the moved soil in the trench must 
always be that of a slope, in order that whatever is 
thrown there may be mixed and not deposited in 
regular layers as in the other case. To effect this 
most completely, the operator should always stand in 
the bottom of the trench, and first picking down and 
mixing the materials, from the solid side, should 
next take them up with the shovel, and throw them 
on the slope or face of the moved soil, keeping a dis- 
tinct space of two or three feet between them. For 
want of attention to this, in trenching new soils for 
gardens and plantations, it may be truly said that 
half the benefit derivable from the operation is lost." 
A more expeditious method of mixing the soil, 
and one which varies but slightly from the ordinary 
system, consists in cutting down the bank in succes- 
sive sections so as to produce theoretically a series of 
layers of soil and subsoil, but in reality a most inti- 



PEEPAKATION OF THE SOIL. 57 

mate mixture of the two. This is Lest accomplished 
by opening a very wide trench — say from four to 
six feet wide. Then throw the top spit off a bank of 
the same width into the bottom of the trench so as to 
insure the burial of all insects, seeds, and weeds ; cut a 
width of from six to fifteen inches of the remaining por- 
tion of the bank completely down to the bottom, and 
spread the soil so obtained in a thin layer over the 
spit formerly thrown in. Then cut down another six 
to fifteen inches in the same manner, proceeding thus 
until the whole bank has been cut down and used to 
fill up the trench. It will now be found that, with 
the exception of the extreme top spit which is placed 
at the bottom for very good reasons, the whole soil is 
sufficiently mixed for all practical purposes. 

Another mode of trenching — called bastard trench- 
ing — is thus described by a writer in the " Gardener's 
Chronicle :" " Open a trench two feet and a half, or 
a yard wide, one full spit and the shovelling deep, 
and wheel the soil from it to where it is intended to 
finish the piece ; then put in the dung and dig it in 
with the bottom spit in the trench ; then fill up this 
trench with the top spit, etc., of the second, treating 
it in like manner, and so on. The advantages of this 
plan of working the soil are, the good soil is retained 
at the top — an. important consideration where the 
soil is poor or bad ; the bottom soil is enriched and 



58 



OPEN AIE GKATE CULTURE. 



loosened for the penetration and nourishment of the 
roots, and allowing them to descend deeper, they are 
not so liable to suffer from drought in summer; 
strong soil is rendered capable of absorbing more 
moisture, and yet remains drier at the surface by the 
water passing down more rapidly to the subsoil, and 
it insures a more thorough shifting of the soil." 

A method which w r e have sometimes adopted, and 
which we think a saving of labor under some circum- 
stances, is as follows : 



A 


F 


B 


E 


c 


D 



Pig. 1. 



Let fig. 1. represent the plot of ground to be 
trenched. Divide it into two equal parts by the line 
a b, and instead of wheeling the soil out of a f to the 
rear of the plot, simply throw that from a out in front. 



FREPAEATION OF THE SOIL. 59 

There can, of course, be no more difficulty in find- 
ing room for it there than there would be in obtain- 
ing a place for it in the rear. Then dig down the 
bank b, and with it fill the trench a. b is now a 
trench which may be filled from o ; c may be filled 
from d ; d from e ; e from f ; and the filling of f 
wuth the soil which was at first thrown out of a, will 
make all even. The wheeling of the soil, which is no 
inconsiderable item, is thus saved. It is evident, 
however, that this plan is adapted only to small, or 
at least narrow plots. 

All the foregoing operations prove most beneficial 
when performed in the fall. At that time the soil 
should not be finely pulverized, but left in as rough 
a state as possible so as to expose it thoroughly to the 
action of the winter's frost and snow. It should be 
also well mixed with a good dressing of well decom- 
posed stable manure, and any of those matters men- 
tioned in Chapter XL 

By these means, the ground will be thoroughly 
enriched by spring, and will not consist of earth 
mixed with fermenting masses of manure, than which 
nothing can be more injurious to young plants. In 
the following spring the land should be raked or har- 
rowed, so as to obtain a level surface of finely pulver- 
ized soil, and if jt should be lightly forked over it 
would be none the worse for it. 



60 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



Terraces. — From our directions for the selection 
of a vineyard site 3 it will be seen that we prefer a gen- 
tle slope to the south or southeast. If this slope does 
not exceed an angle of eight degrees, or a rise of one 
foot in seven, it will be unnecessary to adopt any 
peculiar system of arrangement. For a rise of one in 
four it will be necessary merely to make very slight 
terraces, the borders being made eight feet wide 
and half the descent being taken up by the slope 
given to them, will leave but twelve inches of a ter- 
race, which may be easily secured by a row of sods, 
boards or stones, or even the earth beaten hard and 
kept carefully dressed up. But when the inclination 
of the ground much exceeds this amount, it becomes 
necessary to form regular terraces which is best 
done as follows : 

Find out the actual slope or inclination of the 
ground, which is easily done by taking an eight-foot 



•-3*£, 




Fig. 2. 



board, and after laying one edge on the ground and 
levelling the board, find the length of the perpendi- 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 61 

cular wliicli touches the surface beneath the other end. 
Thus a d, fig. 2, being the surface of the hill, 
and c the eight feet board with the level resting upon 
it, e d, will be the rise in eight feet and e d, less the 
slope given to the border will be the height of each 
step or terrace. Having found this, the next step is 
to cut a perpendicular face half the height of the pro- 
posed terrace at the foot of the hill and against it to 
build a wall as high as may be required. This is best 
formed of dry stone, though the bank is sometimes 
left with a good deal of slope, and sodded, the sods 
being pinned to the face of the bank with stakes until 
the roots have penetrated sufficiently to hold. The 
sods for this purpose should not be cut square, but dia- 
mond form, so that the face of the bank would pre- 
sent the appearance shown in fig. 3. But sods are 



Fig. 8. 

objectionable from the fact that they not only keep 
the air moist in the vicinity of the vines, but also 
abstract a good deal of nutriment from the soil, and 
unless kept neatly mown present a very bad appear- 



62 



OPEN ATE GRAPE CQLTUPJ 



ance. In default of good stone we think that sun- 
dried brick would make a very good wall. The 
earth of which they are made should be mixed with 
straw, well worked and made into blocks. 

It is probable that in well-drained terraces such 
walls would last well if protected with a coping of 
boards or straw secured with good clay in the man- 
ner shown in fig. 4, so as to shed the rain. 




Figure 4. 

Having built this wall, the next step is to fill up 
behind it, and level off a border of suitable width — 
say 6 or 8 feet. To do this it will be necessary to cut 
down a perpendicular face the same height as before, 
when another wall must be built, and the same pro- 
cess repeated. 

A writer in the third volume of the " Gardener's 
Magazine" proposes to train the vines on trellises 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. G3 

lying on the surface of the slopes as shown in figure 5. 
Trained in this manner, grapes are said to have 






Figure 5. 

ripened well in England. We would prefer the 
vertical trellis, however, and give the illustration, 
more to show what has been proposed than as an 
example to be followed. So many times have we 
seen it proposed to incline trellises and train vines 
horizontally, that we cannot refrain from quoting 
Lindley's remarks upon this point. 

" That training a tree over the face of a wall will 
protect the blossoms from cold must be apparent, 
when we consider the severe effect of excessive eva- 
poration upon the tender parts. A merely low 
temperature will produce but little comparative in- 
jury in a still air, because the more essential parts 
of the flower are very much guarded by the bracts, 
calyx and petals, which overlie them, and, more- 
over, because radiation will be intercepted by the 



64: OrKA' AIR GEAPE CULTURE. 

brandies themselves, placed one above the other, so 
that none but the uppermost branches which radiate 
into space will feel its full effects; but when a cold 
wind is constantly passing through the branches and 
among the flowers, the perspiration — against which 
no sufficient guard is provided by nature — becomes 
so rapid as to increase the amount of cold consider- 
ably, besides abstracting more aqueous matter than 
a plant can safely part with. To prevent this being 
one of the great objects of training trees, it is incon- 
ceivable how any one should have recommended 
such devices as those mentioned in the ' Horticultural 
Transactions,' II. Appendix, p. 8., of training trees 
upon a horizontal plane; the only effect of which 
would be to expose a tree as much as possible to the 
effect of that radiation which it is the very purpose 
of training to guard against." 

All terraces should be well drained, and the drains 
are best arranged by having a series of cross drains 
parallel to the terrace, as seen in section fig. 4 and 5, 
and emptying into a main drain which descends the 
hill. These drains should be placed as in the figures, 
taking care to leave the ground under the wall solid 
and undisturbed. In forming terraces for vine cul- 
ture it is necessary to exercise care and judgment, so 
as not to bury the good soil and leave the poor soil 
for the vines to grow in. 



FORMATION OF Vl'NE BORDERS. 05 

Tine Borders. — The formation of vine borders in 
gardens is a subject upon which the student will find 
no lack of information, almost every successful 
gardener attributing the superiority of his grapes to 
some peculiarity in the construction of his borders, 
and innumerable have been the paper conflicts waged 
between the advocates of carrion, asphalte, ventilated 
borders, etc., etc., and their opponents. The "car- 
rion" controversy has probably caused the shedding 
of more ink than any of the others, the ultraists on 
both sides being probably in the wrong. But, 
after all, we regard the construction of proper vine 
borders as no very difficult affair, and shall first give 
our own views in the matter and afterward quote 
those of other authors. 

Of course in borders, as in other cases, it is neces- 
sary that the bottom be as dry as possible. This 
being provided for, if the soil is a light mellow gar- 
den mold, we would rest content with trenching it 
thoroughly, and adding liberal supplies of litter, well 
decomposed manure, woollen rags, and especially 
bones ; * and if in the bottom of each trench a good 

* In the ordinary course of agriculture, where " quick returns," if 
not "small profits" are an important element of success, bones when 
used as manure cannot be too thoroughly pulverized. Indeed, it is 
often profitable to reduce them to the most active form — that of a solu- 
tion — b/ means of acids. But for reasons to be hereafter stated one 



0(y OPKN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

layer of brickbats, lime rubbish, and oyster shells be 
laid, it will prove an advantage. A border prepared 
in this simple manner will give good satisfaction 
under any circumstances. 

If the soil be heavy we would also make liberal 
additions of sandy loam or saw-dust. 

But if the location of the border is such that it can- 
not be well drained, we would remove all the soil to 
the depth of 18 inches over the entire extent of the 
border and fill up at least 12 inches of the space with 
stones, brickbats, etc. Over this we would spread a 
thin layer of straw or brush, and after building a wall 
round the border 18 to 30 inches high, we would fill 
in with a rich soil resembling in composition, that 
described above. The earth on the outside might be 
banked up to the wall, and either sodded, or merely 
beaten solid. 

In all such cases, it is evident that from the narrow 
limits to which we are in general confined, the soil 
ought to be of the richest kind; and as it is nearly 
impossible to renew it after the vines are once started, 
this richness should be derived from materials calcu- 

great advantage to be derived from the use of bones in vine borders 
is the length of time during -which they continue to act, and, there- 
fore, the largest and most solid should be selected and used without 
being crushed or broken. This is no argument, however, against thr 
additional use of bone dust. 



FORMATION OF TINE BORDERS. G7 

laud to give more than a mere temporary impetus 
to i lie plants. The nature and action of manures will 
form the subject of a future chapter, but we may here 
stats that bones, hair, woollen rags, leather clippings 
and similar matters are by far the most suitable. For 
the purpose of giving porosity to the soil, as well as 
furnishing nutriment to the plants, nothing will be 
found to equal chopped straw. Chaff, or sawdust 
comes next in order, and from experiments which we 
have made on the subject, we do not think the value 
of the latter is half appreciated. To dead animals, 
either whole or divided, we have never found any 
objection, provided they were not placed in direct con- 
tact with the roots of the plant. No danger is to be 
apprehended of the vine seeking them to its own 
detriment. But this more properly pertains to the 
subject of manures. We will now give the manner 
in which the most celebrated grape growers construct 
their borders. 

Miller (1759) recommends good mellow soil with- 
out any addition. 

Speedily (1790) states in his work : "As the vines 
in the hot-house at Welbeck have been remarkably 
fruitful and vigorous, I shall beg leave to recom- 
mend the same kind of compost mold which I make 
use of there, viz. one-fourth part of garden mold, 
(a strong loam) ; one-fourth of the sward or turf from 



OS OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

a pasture where the soil is a sandy loam ; one-fourth 
of the sweepings and scrapings of pavements and hard 
roads ; one-eighth of rotten cow and stable yard dung 
mixed ; and one-eighth of vegetable mold from re- 
duced and decayed oak leaves. These are the several 
and respective proportions. The sward should be 
laid in a heap till the grass roots are in a state of 
decay, and then turned over and broken with a spade ; 
let it then be put to the other materials, and the 
whole worked together, till the separate parts become 
well and uniformly mixed and incorporated. 

As the vegetable mold from decayed leaves can- 
not always be obtained, by reason that the leaves 
require two years before they become sufficiently 
putrid and reduced, it therefore may sometimes be 
necessary to substitute some other ingredient in lieu 
of this part of the compost ; wherefore it may not be 
inexpedient to point out the proper succedanea. 

Rotten wood reduced to a fine mold, such as is 
often found under fagot stacks ; the scraping of the 
ground in old woods, where the trees grow thick 
too;etner : mold out of hollow trees,, and sawdust 
reduced to a fine mold, provided it be not from wood 
of a resinous kind, are in part of a similar nature 
with vegetable mold from decayed leaves, but are 
neither so rich nor so powerful, because the vegetable 
mold receives a power by its fermentation. 



FORMATION OF VINE BORDERS > 09 

Abercrombie directs the top slip of sandy loam from 
an upland pasture, one-third part ; unexhausted brown 
loam from a garden, one-fourth part; scrapings of 
roads free from clay, one-sixth part ; vegetable mold 
or old tan, or rotten stable dung, one-eighth part; 
shell marl, or mild lime, one-twelfth part. His bor- 
ders he recommends to be from three to five feet in 
depth, and where practicable, not less than four feet 
wide within the house, and not less than ten feet wide 
without. 

The vine borders at "Wished House, Lanarkshire, 
in a cold and wet locality, are thus formed : Breadth, 
12 feet, depth of soil 18 inches, under which is laid 
a foot of hard clinkers, by way of drainage. The soil 
used is that natural to the garden, which had for 
years been under pasture, and is a remarkably strong, 
rich brick-clayey loam, with no other preparation 
than the addition of a moderate supply of stable ma- 
nure. In this soil the best grapes ever produced in 
Scotland have been grown for the last three years. 

A writer in the " Gardener's Chronicle" (1813, page 
825) prepares "his borders thus : The soil most suita- 
ble for a vine border is the surface spit from a field 
of an old fertile loam pasture ; this should be collected 
some time before it is required, mixed with a good 
proportion of cow dung, and the whole turned over 
at intervals, three or four times, and exposed to the 



TO OPEN ATE, GKAPE CULTURE. 

action of the weather. In preparing the border, the 
old earth should be cleared away from the whole 
space, to the depth of about two and a half feet, and 
a main drain cut parallel with the length of the bor- 
der, at its extreme outer edge. 

This should be at least two feet lower than the 
bottom of the border, whether laid with concrete, 
chalk or bricks, and the bottom of the border should 
have a gentle inclination from the back to the drain. 
To render this drainage more effectual, cut small 
drains, placing drain tiles at their bottoms, at con- 
venient distances, to run in a slanting direction from 
the back of the border into the main drain, the latter 
beino* six inches below them. A few turfs should 
be laid over the tile drains with the grassy side down ; 
the fresh soil may then be filled in, taking care to 
keep the roughest part near the bottom. 

Three cubic yards of compost are enough for each 
vine ; this will admit of the border being ten feet 
w T ide, or with forty-eight cubic feet, you may form it 
only six feet wide in the first instance, and add six 
feet more as the vines extend. 

Roberts, the great advocate for carrion, gives the 
following description of his border: "The compost 
and manures I most recommend, and which I made 
use of, are two parts the parings of a piece of old 
pasture land, a strong loam laid up one year (or till 



FORMATION OF VINE EORDEES. 71 

the sward is half decomposed), in the form of a potato 
hod, close covered in with soil, and never turned ; one 
part, the turf with four inches of the soil, of a looser 
texture laid up for the same period, and not turned, 
as before ; an eighth part scrapings of the highways 
formed from limestone, or other hard material ; and 
the other eighth part, half decomposed horse or cow 
dunsr. I am not an advocate for turning over and 
mixing the materials promiscuously together, as, by 
often turning, the compost becomes too solid, losing a 
great portion of its fertilizing property by such re- 
peated intermixture ; and unless it be of a very sandy, 
loose texture, the border will, in a few years, become 
impervious both to water and to atmospheric air, 
which are of incalculable benefit to the growth of the 
vine. I would recommend the autumn, if the weather 
be dry, to prepare to fill ill your border. 

" A month previous to filling your border, provide a 
quantity of carrion, cattle dying by accident, disease, 
etc., wdiich I am sorry to say, has, of late years, 
been too common an occurrence. If you have col- 
lected it some time before hand, have it cut into small 
pieces and laid up in soil till the time of using. It 
emits a very nauseous ernuvia, but this must be borne, 
for this is the pabulum to produce the nectar of 
Bacchus. When all is ready, and the weather favor- 
able, proceed at one end of your border, wheeling in 



72 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

and mixing the materials in proportion as they stand 
to each other in my previous directions, on no account 
breaking the materials in mixing, but turn them in as 
rough as possible, adding one good sized horse or cow 
carcass to every ten or twelve square yards, using 
caution, and not bringing it to the surface of the 
border within one foot as its assistance is not wanted 
the first year. What I have here recommended is 
my practice adopted at this place, the result of which, 
I dare presume to say, has surprised all, both gentle- 
men and practical gardeners, who have witnessed it." 

Fiske Allen, one of the best American culturists 
of the vine under glass, constructs his borders thus : 

" If the soil is very poor, or unsuitable for the pur- 
pose, so as to require to be removed entirely, then 
a compost prepared thus is recommended ; one-half 
to be the top soil of an old pasture, one-quarter to 
be bone, or some other strong manure ; one-eighth 
oyster shells, or lime and brick rubbish ; one-eighth 
rotten manure ; these articles thrown together in a 
heap, and so to remain until decomposed and amalga- 
mated, when they should be placed in the border and 
thrown loosely together. My borders having the 
most slaughter-house manure, or whole bones of ani- 
mals in their composition still continue, as they ever 
have done, to produce the best fruit and the largest 
crops. 



FORMATION OF VINE BORDERS. 73 

" It is unnecessary to attempt to give rules for every 
kind of soil. One must nse his own judgment, and 
make his border to consist, as near as can be, of the 
above ingredients. He must bear in mind that, if 
his soil is a stiff clayey loam, he must add freely of 
such materials as will lighten and give permeability 
to it. If the soil is light, sandy or gravelly, with the 
manuie should be added a proportion of clay or 
clayey loam. The rich alluvion soil, abounding in 
our western and southwestern States, will not require 
any of these strong manures. If anything is requi- 
site to improve them, it must be shells, charcoal, 
leaves, small stones, or gravel — such materials as 
will loosen the soil." 

But that the reader may not be discouraged by 
these extravagant demands we quote the following 
f; om Hoare : 

"But if vmes could not be planted with any pros- 
pect of success in any other situations than in bor- 
ders set apart for that purpose, but a very small quan- 
tity of grapes could be grown, compared with what 
the country is capable of producing. Innumerable 
instances occur throughout the country, and espe- 
cially in towns and their suburban districts, in which 
walls, cottages, houses, and various descriptions of 
brick and stone erections present very favorable 
aspects for the training of vines, but wdiich neverthe- 



74 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

less are so situated locally, as to possess little or no 
soil at all on the surface adjoining their sites; the 
ground being either paved with bricks or stone, or per- 
haps trodden so hard, as to be apparently incapable 
of yielding sustenance to any vegetable production. 

" In all such cases, however, if the ground adjoining 
the site of the wall or building be opened to the 
extent of eighteen inches square, and as many deep, 
it will be sufficient to admit the roots of a young 
vine, which must be pruned to suit that space. If a 
wider and deeper space can be made, it will of course 
be better ; but if not, that will do. After the sides 
and bottom have been loosened as much as possible, 
the vine may be planted and the hole filled up with 
two-thirds of rich loamy earth, and one-third of road 
scrapings, previously mixed w r ell together, and if 
necessary the surface covering, whether of stone, 
brick, or otherwise, may be restored again to its for- 
mer state, provided a space about six inches square 
be left open for the stem to swell in during its future 
growth. Vines planted in such situations, will in gene- 
ral do well, although their growth will not be so rapid 
as when planted under more favorable circumstances. 

" In all cases where vines are planted against any 
description of buildings, their roots push as soon as 
possible under the foundations, being attracted thi- 
ther by the warm air which is there generated ; and 



FORMATION OF VINE BORDERS. '75 

sucli situations being also dry, from the excavations 
whicli have been made, offer to the roots the same 
protection from excessive moisture, as the substratum 
of a well-prepared border. The same may be 
observed of vines planted against walls, the founda- 
tions of which possess similar advantages, although 
in a more limited degree. Hence the fact may be 
inferred that vines planted in such situations, without 
any previous preparation of the soil, will frequently 
grow as luxuriantly, and produce as fine grapes as 
those planted in rich and well-prepared borders. 

" Indeed, it is hardly possible to plant a vine in any 
situation in whicli it will not thrive, provided its roots 
can by any means push themselves into a dry place, 
and the aspect be such as to afford to its branches a 
sufficient portion of the sun's rays to elaborate the 
juices of the plant. 

" The truth is, that the roots of the vine possess an 
extraordinary power of adapting themselves to any 
situation in which they may be planted, provided it 
be a dry one. 

" They will ramble in every direction in search of 
food, and extract nourishment from sources apparently 
the most barren. In short, they are the best caterers 
that can possibly be imagined, for they will grow, 
and even thrive luxuriantly, where almost every des- 
cription of plant or tree would inevitably starve," 



i'J OPEN AIB GEAPE OULTUEE 



CHAPTER IV. 



FLANTING. 



Peopee Age of Tines foe Planting. — "Where 
young vines have been raised from cuttings, in the 
open ground, two years old probably is the best age 
to select for planting out. Plants one year from the 
cutting have rarely made sufficient roots to bear 
transplanting well, and at a greater age than two 
years the roots are so long that they generally receive 
much mutilation in taking up — thus losing their 
most fibrous and valuable part, viz., that at the ex- 
tremities. Of course older vines, carefully taken up 
and as carefully planted, will come into bearing in 
shorter time than younger plants, and thus give more 
satisfactory results where expense is no objection. 
But where a large number of vines are to be set out, 
two-year old plants, as above stated, or one-year old 
plants raised from eyes in the spring, and grown all 
summer in the open air, have decided advantages on 
the score both of economy and ease of planting. 
Indeed, we should prefer plain cuttings, planted two 
to each stake, to one-year old vines raised from cut* 



TLANTING. 77 

tings in the open ground. Plants raised from eyes 
in pots, early in spring, and transferred in summer to 
their final location, do very well. 

Proper Season for Planting. — The proper season 
for planting depends much upon local circumstances 
— soil and climate being chiefly to be considered. In 
a few instances, were the soil is light and the climate 
mild, it may do to risk fall planting, but under all 
ordinary circumstances we should advise this opera- 
tion to be deferred till pretty late in the spring, and 
this advice is founded upon the uniformly favorable 
results which have attended this plan in our own 
experience, as opposed to frequent want of success at 
other times. Plants set out even early in the fall 
rarely outstrip those planted in the following spring, 
and when autumn planting is delayed much beyond 
the fall of the leaf, the plants frequently fail if the 
winters are severe. 

The reason of this probably depends upon the fact 
that the roots of all plants when vegetation is active, 
are enabled to resist adverse influences which would 
prove fatal to them when dormant. Thus the vine 
when growing will revel in a degree of moisture 
which would destroy it, or at least prove very injuri- 
ous during the winter months. Now the roots of all 
trees are more or less injured by transplanting, and 



78 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

incipient decay is apt to supervene unless the vitality 
of the plant is sufficient to withstand it. If this 
should occur when the plant is . dormant, there is no 
influence at work to resist the evil. But if such 
injuries should be inflicted in spring, when vegeta- 
tion is just commencing, they are quickly and readily 
repaired. 

. "With care vines may be transplanted even when 
their leaves are well developed ; but under such cir- 
cumstances the vine, from its great evaporative 
powers, makes a heavy draft upon the roots and is 
rather impatient of removal after vegetation has made 
some progress. We have had the best success, however, 
when the plant was set out so late in the spring that 
the buds were starting, but just before they were fully 
burst. About this time the soil is getting gradually 
warmer, and although it does not reach a sufficiently 
high temperature to induce the formation of roots in 
cuttings before June or July, still it is warm enough 
to allow of the healthy action of the roots in a grow- 
ing plant. 

In the above cases the vines were set out immedi- 
ately after being dug up. "Where it is necessary to 
transport them any distance, it would undoubtedly 
be better to take them up earlier, before the sap 
begins to move. They need not be planted for some 
•ime, but may be merely heeled in, as it is called, 

4 M 



PLANTING. T9 

that is, placed in a shallow trench and well covered 
with dry soil. A covering of straw or leaves in addi- 
tion will do no harm if the mice do not make it a 
harbor. 

Distance Apart. — The distance apart at which 
vines should be planted will, of course, depend not 
only upon the variety, but upon the object for which 
they are set out. In Europe they are placed at all 
distances from 30 inches to 30 feet. In the Ohio 
vineyards, where they are usually fastened to stakes, 
the plants are placed about four or five feet apart ; but 
in the northern States, where vines are trained upon 
trellises, we should prefer to set them out in rows 6 
feet apart, and the vines standing 7 or 8 feet apart in 
the rows. This distance enables us to keep the vines 
close enough and short enough for all practical pur- 
poses, while it does not require more time to cover 
the trellis than is absolutely necessary to bring the 
vine into proper order for bearing. The rows are 
also sufficiently far apart to allow of horse labor 
being used — a considerable saving being thus 
effected. 

The number of vines required to plant an acre will 
be seen from the following table, which has often 
been published, but which it may be well to insert 
here. 

I 



80 



OPEN AIR GKArE CULTURE. 



PLANTS TO THE ACRE. 

3x3 requires 4,840 



PLANTS TO THE ACRE. 



4x3 
4x4 
5x4 
5x5 

6x5 
6X6 
7x6 

7x7 



u 
a 
a 
a 
a 
u 
u 



3,630 
2,722 
2,178 
1,742 
1,452 
1,210 
1,023 
888 



8x7 

8x8 

V x 7 

9x8 

9x9 

10 x 7 

10 X 8 

10 x 9 

10 x 10 



requires 

a 
a 



a 
a 
it 

a 

a 



788 
680 
691 
605 
537 
622 
544 
484 
435 



Marking off the Ground. — Where vines are set 
out at from 4 to 6 feet apart and trained to stakes, 
the following directions, taken from the "American 
Philosophical Transactions," and frequently quoted 
(generally without credit), are as good as any : 

" Your squares being laid out, and having con- 
cluded how far your vines shall stand every way 
from one another, in which every man is to please 
himself, you stretch a line of proper length, and 
stitch small pieces of red, blue, green, or any other 
colored cloth, at such distance from each other as you 
mean to plant the vines. I will suppose 8 feet, 
because upon the most mature deliberation, I think 
that the best distance for vines to stand in this coun- 
try, as I shall afterward show more fully. The line 
being ready, stretch it along the head or upper part 



PLANTING. 81 

of your square, so that a rag appears at each corner, 
drive down a stake at every rag. This done, move 
your line down to the lower side of the square, which 
is opposite to the first, and stretch your line along 
that, having a rag at each corner, and drive down a 
stake at every rag. Then turn your line the other 
way up and down, and fasten your line to the upper 
and lower outside stakes, so that a rag be at each 
stake, and drive down a stake at every rag, and so on 
from stake to stake, till the whole be completed. If 
you have been careful not to disturb or move the 
line, when you drove down the stakes, and have 
driven them all on the same side of the line, your 
square will be uniform, and the stakes near the 
ground will range exactly every way." 

Where the vines are trained to trellises, it is not 
essential that they should be straight both ways as 
when tied to stakes, it being necessary that the trel- 
lises be parallel and equi-distant only. 

To make them so, a very good plan is as follows : 

Prepare a rod, fig. 6, a few inches more than 

twenty feet long, and having a small hole (a) bored 

through one end, then bore a similar hole (c) twelve 

feet from the first ; one (5), 16 feet from the first ; and 

one (d) 20 feet from the first. Having decided upon 

the direction of the first row and divided it into 

spaces corresponding to the distance the plants are to 

4* 



82 OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. 

stand from each other, drive in stakes a a at each 

end, and measuring off 16 feet, drive in other two, 

b b. The heads of these should be made level with 







Fig. 6. 



the surface of the ground, and headless nails should 
then be driven into them — the two nails (a and b) at 
each end being exactly 16 feet apart. ISTow place the 
rod on one of the outside stakes, so that the nail will 
pass through the first hole (a) and drive a peg into 
the hole in the rod 12 feet from the end. "With this 
peg mark a curve (<?), and then placing the end (a) of 
the rod on the stake b, mark another curve (d) cross- 
ing the first by means of a pin passing through the 
hole {(I). A line (a d), drawn from a through the cross- 
ing of these curves will be perfectly square with the 



PLANTING. 83 

first row. Divide the lines (a d) into spaces equal to 
the width of the rows, and the lines joining the cor- 
responding divisions will be the proper lines of the 
trellises. 

As many stakes or poles, 6 or 8 feet long, should be 
provided as there are vines, and these should be set 
at the points where the vines are to be placed before 
the holes are dug. These stakes will serve during 
the first two years and will save the tear and wear of 
trellises as well as the interest on the investment, 
besides relieving some of the hurry incident to the 
work of the first spring, which is always more press- 
ing than that of any succeeding one. 

Digging the Holes. — In digging the holes it will 
be well to take up the stakes one at a time, and after 
digging the hole to replace the stake, driving it 
slightly into the soil at the bottom.. By so doing the 
centres of the holes, or at least the points where the 
stems of the vines should come, will be easily kept, 
whereas if all the stakes were removed before dig- 
ging the holes, it would be troublesome to get them 
exactly right again. The insertion of the stake, 
before planting the vine, not only aids us in this, but 
prevents the possibility of injuring the roots by driv- 
ing a sharp stake through them, a thing which is 
often done. The holes should be dug from 12 to 24 



8i OPEN AIR G-EAPE CULTURE. 

inches deep and about 3 feet in diameter, or as wide 
as the distance to which the roots extend. 

Taking up the Plants. — When plants are pur- 
chased, this operation is generally left to the nursery- 
man who not unfrequently commits it to men who 
care very little how it is done so that they get the 
plants out of the ground. But when we reflect that 
a small amount of care in taking up a plant will 
often cause a difference of a year or more in its sub- 
sequent growth, it will be evident that the labor, time 
and consequent interest on capital which will be ulti- 
mately saved by devoting a little attention to this 
matter will more than pay for the few extra minutes 
required. 

In taking up a vine, or any plant, it is well to 
remember that the most efficient portion of the roots 
is that which lies at the extreme ends — those minute 
fibres or spongioles which have been aptly termed 
the mouths of the plant. In old vines, where the 
roots extend to a great distance, these fibres are gene- 
rally left in the soil, and the plant presents but a few 
smooth, fibreless, cord-like roots from which spongi- 
oles must be emitted ere the plant can derive any 
nourishment from them. 

But in young plants the roots have not yet extend- 
ed so far as to prevent their being easily taken up 



PLANTING. 85 

without any groat loss, and here we have one reason 
why we prefer young plants to old ones. A con- 
sideration of this fact will also lead us to follow out 
each root to its termination and so secure all the 
fibres possible. "Where the plants have been started 
in sandy, friable soil this is not a laborious task, but 
where the soil is clayey and plastic, it is often a work 
of considerable difficulty. 

In any case, however, the purchaser should see 
that the roots are taken up as completely and entirely 
as possible, and it will also be well to prune all that 
are bruised, broken, or diseased — taking such injured 
parts off with a clean cut. As these injuries can 
never bo so well seen, or so well remedied as when 
the plant is newly taken up, this is the best time to 
attend to them ; and this forms another reason why 
the purchaser should, if possible, give this matter his 
personal supervision. They should then be dipped 
in puddle made of good garden soil, stirred up with 
water ; clay is frequently used for this purpose, and so 
is cow dung, but very injudiciously. The former is 
too tough and hard and prevents the formation of 
young roots, while the latter (as it is commonly used) 
is caustic and destructive to the tender fibres. We 
have tried all three substances and are confident that 
nothing will be found equal to good common soil. 

If the nursery in which the plants have been raised 



86 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

is on the same premises as the vineyard, the vines may 
be either rolled up in coarse sacking, or, a few being 
taken up at a time, they may be plunged in a pail or 
tub filled with puddle. But if they are to be sent to 
a distance, they should be packed in damp (not moist) 
moss (sphagnum) or good clean straw, and either 
made into light bundles or firmly packed in boxes. 

The vines having been carefully taken up and the 
holes properly prepared to receive them, the next 
step is to set them out, and in doing this the follow- 
ing points require special attention : 

1. That the roots be disposed in their new location 
as nearly as possible in the same position that they 
occupied before their removal. 

2. That some fine, friable, mellow mold be placed 
in immediate contact with the roots. 

3. That no fresh manure or decomposing organic 
matter be allowed to come in direct contact with the 
plant under any circumstances whatever. 

4. That the soil be firmly packed about the roots, 
no air spaces being left. In doing this, however, do 
not tread down the plant with your whole weight, as 
you w T ill thus be very apt to tear off some of the 
roots, but work the soil in with your hand or a 
pointed stick. 

In general it will be well to insert the plants a 
little deeper in the soil than they were previously, 



PLANTING. 



87 



as, owing to the mutilation which of necessity takes 
place, a greater draught is made upon the roots for 
moisture than they can support when thus shortened, 
if they are placed near the surface. But this point 
requires the exercise of discretion, and a good sub- 
stitute for deeper planting will be thorough mulch- 
ing. 

As roots always spring from a bud or joint, and 
rarely from the intern ode or portion between the buds, 
the mode of propagation by which the«plant has been 
produced will exert considerable influence upon the 
modus operandi of setting it out. 




Fig. 7. 



In fig. 7 is shown the proper disposition of the 
roots of a young plant raised from a seed or from a 
single eye. In this case the roots all proceed from 
within a short distance of each other and from the 
base of the stem. In setting out such a plant, the 
better plan is to throw a shovelful or two of fine 



88 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

mold on the bottom of tlie hole, so as to form s» 
conical heap, the top of which should be just at a 
suitable height to support the base of the stem in its 
proper position. Then, having placed the plant on 
the top of this little mound, spread out all the roots 
equally and naturally over its side and fill in with 
pulverized soil, being careful to pack the soil firmly 
around the roots, yet still leaving it mellow and 
porous. 

The soil ought to be raised some inches above the 
surrounding ground, the amount depending upon the 
size and depth of the hole dug. All filling- in is apt 
to sink, and unless this is done, the plant may be 
found after a few weeks to be too low. Some, how- 
ever, prefer to have the plant set in a hollow, claim- 
ing that a basin is thus formed which catches and 
retains the rain. We would rather rely upon good 
mulching for obtaining the requisite amount of mois- 
ture, but if this is dispensed with, and recourse had 
to the former plan, we should prefer to have the hol- 
low or basin in the form of a ring around the edge of 
the hole, leaving the stem surrounded with a little 
mound which will shed the rain. The stem is thus 
kept dry, and the moisture is guided just where it is 
wanted, viz. : to the extremity of the roots. Figure 
8 gives a sectional view of the soil so arranged. 

"When vines have been raised from cuttings con 



PLANTING. 



80 




Fig. 8. 



sisting of several eyes or joints, there will in general 
be several layers of roots — the plants having the ap- 
pearance shown in Fig. 9. 




In this case it will be necessary to proceed as 
directed for plants from eyes in so far as the lower 
layer of roots is concerned — the upper layers being 
held np while this is done. After the first layer has 
been properly covered, the next layer is laid on the 
surface of the soil which covers the lower layer, and 
after being properly disposed are covered in turn, 



90 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE, 

which process is repeated until all the roots are im- 
bedded in the soil. 

Plants raised from layers in general demand a 

treatment peculiar to themselves. If they have been 
produced as in Fig. 44, page 176, they will, of course, 
be set out in the main as shown in Fig. 7. But if 
they have been raised in the open ground, and the 
roots have been produced from several joints or buds, 
it will be found that while the roots are not disposed 
in regularly-ascending layers, yet that some are lower 
than others — the whole, however, in general lying in 
one plane which is greatly inclined to the surface of 
the earth. For such plants it will in general be best 
to dig a trench or oblong hole, and instead of raising 
a heap in the centre to lay the soil in the bottom, so 
as to form a regularly inclined bed. The plant being 
placed on this bed of fine soil, the roots are all ar- 
ranged over it at once and covered in without further 
trouble. 

In all these cases it will, of course, be necessary 
that the stem of the plant be placed sufficiently near 
to the stake which has been inserted in the hole to 
allow of its being tied thereto without much bending 
or wrenching, and if the weather be dry it will be 
necessary to give the plants a good watering at the 
time they are set out. 

When plants are received in pots — having been 



PLANTING. 91 

grown therein from eyes or grafts — it is always best 
after taking them out to remove a considerable por- 
tion of the soil, and spread out the roots. This is 
necessary from the fact that the roots of plants grown 
in pots form a series of spirals round the outside of 
the ball (between the earth and the pot), and if set 
out in the ground just as they are taken from the 
pot, it requires a long time before the roots change 
this habit and acquire a proper direction and healthy 
condition. The plants should be well watered before 
being taken from the pots, and they should be set in 
fine, loose soil, being exposed to the air as little as 
possible. After planting, it will, of course, be w T ell 
to be liberal with water, and liquid manure used in a 
very diluted state will prove highly beneficial after 
the first week. 

Plants for setting out are usually obtained in pots 
in June, July, or the beginning of August, and as it 
frequently happens that at that time the earth and 
air are so dry as to endanger the life of a young vine, 
if treated as just directed, we have sometimes found 
it advisable after receiving them from the nursery to 
set out the p)ts (without removing the plants) in the 
open ground, plunging them about two inches below 
the surface of the soil, and leaving them there until 
a few rainy days occur, when the pc-ts are taken up 
and the plants removed and properly set out. 



92 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER Y. 



CARE OF THE VINES DURING THE FIRST, SECOND AND 



THIRD YEARS. 



The roots of the vine having been properly cared for, 
the branches may now be pruned. Unless where 
very large and well-rooted vines have been planted 
expressly for immediate bearing, all the secondary 
shoots should be cut away and the main stem 
shortened to an extent depending upon its cha- 
racter. 

As usually received from the nursery, one or two 
year old plants, if raised from cuttings, consist of a 
short stem two to six inches long, one or two shoots 
and a large quantity of spray or small twigs, consist- 
ing of the laterals of last year. If raised from eyes, 
there will in general be but one shoot, with perhaps 
a few laterals. Under any, circumstances the plants 
ought to be cut back at planting to two good eyes, and 
as soon as they have made a few leaves, cut off the 
upper one as close as possible to the one left, taking 
care, however, not to injure the base of the remaining 
shoot, which ought to be kept tied up to the stake 



CAEE OF TIIE VINES DURING THE FIRST YEAK. 03 

as fast as it shows symptoms of leaning over.* The 




Fig. 30. 

base of the shoot which is retained (that is, the point 

* It is recommended by some respectable authorities, to allow the 
young plants to remain untied during the first year, urging as a 
reason that more vigorous stems will thus be obtained. But, although 
the experiments of Knight have proved the advantage of bending and 
motion to most young trees, yet the vine naturally seeks support 
from surrounding objects, and will in most cases, receive more injury 
from dirt, and abrasion by being blown about and rubbing upon the 
ground than will balance the good derived from the motion imparted. 

But as we may observe that the vine is adapted to cling, not to the 
thick and stout bodies of trees, but to slender branches, it is obvious 
that nature provides fully for sustaining the plant beyond the reach of 
injury, without interfering with the action of the wind in producing 
motion. Hence, in the construction of trellises and the choice of stakes, 
it will be well to select flexible material, always provided it is strong 
enough to avoid all danger of being blown down ; stout rods or poles 
are therefore to be preferred to sawed lumber, and we may add they are 
also cheaper. From the above facts we may also gather the reason why 
wires are to be preferred to wooden slats in the construction of trellises. 



04: OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

at wliicli it springs from the old wood) should be as low 
down as possible — if even with the surface of the 
ground, so much the better. 

A plant such as we have described, is shown in Fig. 
10 as it is usually received from the nursery. The 
same plant properly pruned is shown in Fig. 11, 




Kg. 11. 

Many are afraid to cut back so severely, but it is the 
only true method. 

The object of leaving two eyes at first, is merely to 
guard against accidents. If we could be insured 
against them, the upper one would be better away. 
Little else can be done during the first year than to 
keep the ground mellow, loose about the plants and free 
from weeds. The vine must also be tied up during 
the season, and if a little liquid manure could be ap- 
plied to them while growing, it would prove of great 
benefit. In applying this stimulant, it is necessary to 
use it in a very diluted state, and if possible, just 
before or during wet weather. When applied during 
very dry weather remove the surface soil to a depth 



CAKE OF THE VINES DURING THE FIRST YEAR. 95 

of three or four inches, and give at least a pailful 
to each plant, working the soil as little as possible, 
lest it be converted into puddle. Such an application 
will last for ten days during even very dry weather, 
and will do more good than frequent sprinkling. 

Mulching. — But if abundance of grassy weeds, 
litter, stable manure, or similar matters can be ob- 
tained, the best plan is to mulch the plants deeply 
for at least three feet every way from the stem. Of 
this process, A. J. Downing says : " Covering the soil 
m summer is, in this country, one of the most valu- 
able aids to good cultivation ever put in practice. The 
best mode of doing this is, by what is technically 
called mulching. This consists in spreading over the 
surface of the. ground, so far as the roots of the tree 
or plant extend beneath it, a layer of tan bark, saw 
dust, barn yard litter, straw, salt hay, sea weed, or the 
like, of sufficient thickness to maintain, as nearly as 
possible, a uniform state of temperature and moisture 
for the roots. From an experience of some years, we 
do not hesitate to say that mulching the surface of the 
ground over newly-planted trees, is not only far bet- 
ter than any after-watering, but that, if the layer is 
thick enough to keep the surface cool, it renders 
water wholly unnecessary. In the case of bearing 
fruit-trees, especially the more delicate kinds, as dwarf 
pears, apricots, etc., mulching not only precludes the 



90 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



necessity of stirring the soil, by preventing weeds from 
growing, but it conduces so much, more to the health 
of the tree, and the size and excellence of the fruit 
than any other practice in horticulture, that the more 
intelligent growers in the United States now consider 
it indispensable in this climate." 

In addition \o these lucid directions, we would only 
say that before applying mulch of any kind to a 
young vine it will always be advisable to raise the 
soil around the stem to the depth to which it is in- 
tended to lay the mulch, so as to prevent any of the 
latter from coming in contact with the plant, as in this 
case it might be productive of evil. 

The annexed figure, 12, where the mulch is seen on 
the surface of the soil, will illustrate our meaning. 




Laterals* are small shoots which spring from the 
axils of the leaves (the point which they join the 

* To these the French have given the name stipul aires, and it seems 
to ns that st/pnlarics would be quite as good a term as laterals, and 
more correct. 



CAKE OF THE VINES DURING THE FIRST YEAR. 97 

shoot). As these laterals absorb much of the nutri- 
ment which would otherwise go to the increase of the 
stem, they should be carefully pinched out after they 
have made one or two leaves. If removed before they 
have made some growth, the bud at their Dase is very 
apt to jpusli, as it is called (that is, to grow), which 
should be avoided, if possible. 

Fig. 13 shows a young shoot of the current year 
with a lateral (b) springing from the base of the leaf 
L. This lateral should be pinched off at the cross line. 




Fig. 13. 



If removed entirely or too soon the bud (o) will be apt 
to push, and destroy our prospects for next season. 

"Winter Protection of yo ung Yines. — At the close 
of the season, the vines may either be bent down 
and covered with earth in the manner usually 
adopted for covering raspberries, or they may be left 
upright, and tied to the stakes, a mound of earth 



98 OPEN" AIR GEAPE CULTURE. 

being raised up around eacli such mound, .being at 
least 18 inches high. The soil of which it is made 
should be taken from the centre of the rows, as, if we 
take it from about the plants, we only cover the stem 
to expose the roots. 

Where the vines are left tied to the stakes, we pre- 
fer to leaving them unpruned. True, most of the 
wood gets killed, but this is of little moment since it 
is to be nearly all cut away at the spring pruning. 

Management during the Second Year. — As soon 
as the severe frosts of winter and early spring have 
passed away, uncover the young vines, and if not 
already pruned, cut them to a good bud within 9 to 
14 inches of the ground. They should be shaded for 
a few days from the sun and cold, which may be very 
well done by sticking a shingle before each, though 
two shingles placed so as to form an angle in which 
the vine may stand, will be better. We have now 
arrived at a point where it will be necessary to 
decide upon the peculiar system to be adopted in the 
training of our vines. Instead, however, of describ- 
ing all the different modes of pruning and training 
in this place, we shall give only that which we consi- 
der best adapted to the native American varieties and 
leave the consideration of the others to the chapter 
on general pruning and training. 



CARE OF THE VINFS DURING THE SECOND YEAR. 99 

If the plants have made but a weakly, stunted 
growth, it will be necessary to allow them another 
year before proceeding to grow shoots for permanent 
arms or branches. In this case but one shoot should 
be trained up, which may be treated precisely as 
directed for the first year. But if a cane of from 6 
to 12 feet has been produced, we may safely proceed 
to train up two canes which will serve for the future 
&i:ns of our vine. To do this, after cutting down the 
first year's shoot as directed, remove all the buds 
except the three uppermost, and as soon as these are 
beyond danger of accident, rub off one if three 



Pig. 14. 

should still remain. The two shoots which are left 
must be carefully trained up, the laterals being 



100 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

pinched out and any fruit blossoms which may 
appear being removed. 

The operations of the second year will be readily 
understood from the inspection of Fig. 14, which 
shows the young vine as it should appear at the close 
of the first season. Here a is the wood of the old 
cutting, with J, the shoot which was cut back and 
from which the young cane c d grew. As this 
old wood is hard and cross-grained and cannot be 
renewed, it will be well to add top dressing, suf- 
ficient to cover it up to the line a b. The buds, c c, 
are those which produce next year's shoots ; and the 
buds at d d must be carefully removed. 

The ground should be kept clean and mellow 
during the season, and by the first or middle of 
September the further growth of the canes should 
be stopped by pinching off the ends — the wood 
being much more thoroughly ripened when this is 
done. 

It will be necessary, or at least advisable, to lay the 
vines down this season also and protect, not only the 
old stem, but at least four feet of the young shoots. 
The stakes may be removed, and during the fall or 
early spring the trellises may be erected, for which 
full directions are given in Chapter IX. 

Management during the Third Season. — The tre t - 



CARE OF THE VINES DURING THE THIRD YEAR. 101 

lises having been constructed in such a manner, that 
the lowest slat or wire may be just below the base of 
the second year's shoots, that is from 9 to 14 inches 
above the surface of the ground, these two shoots 
should be firmly, though not tightly, tied, in a hori- 
zontal position as shown in Fig. 15, and all buds 



JL 




Fig. 15. 

should be rubbed out except three on each arm (or 
shoot) thus leaving six on each vine. Each of these 
buds should produce a shoot which, if the ground has 
"been in good condition and the plants healthy and 
properly set out, would reach from 12 to 25 feet 
unless stopped, and as it is upon every second one of 
these that we depend for our next year's supply of 
fruit, they deserve and will require great care and 



102 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

attention in order that they may finally be of equal 
strength and well ripened. Every second shoot 
should be stopped when it has made a growth of 
about two feet, and if any of the others should so far 
outstrip their compeers as to reach the top of the 
trellis much before them, they should be stopped 
also, though except in the case of excessive growth 
all the shoots had best be allowed to grow on until 
the first of September, when they may all be stopped 
at once, unless it be deemed best to allow the weak- 
est a few days' longer growth, in which case it is sur- 
prising how soon they will overtake their companions. 
Stopping, or pinching, consists in breaking off the 
end of a shoot, and its immediate effect is to arrest 
the further growth of the cane, or at least its further 
lineal development, for the time being. But although 
no more leaves are immediately formed, those already 
in existence perform their usual functions and the 
whole energies of the plant are directed to the ripen- 
ing of the wood already produced. After a time, 
one of the buds near the extremity of the shoot will 
probably break and become the leader, when it 
should be stopped in turn, this process being repeated 
as often as any symptoms of vigorous growth are 
exhibited. The result of all this checking is to lessen 
the ultimate amount of wood produced and to 
improve its quality both as to ripeness and density. 
Stopping furnishes us with an effectual means of 



CARE OF THE VINES DURING THE THIRD YEAR. 103 

equalizing the growth of our young canes — a most 
important point, not only as regards the neatness of 
their appearance, but the regularity with which the 
fruit buds will break next season and the strength 
with which they will shoot. But as the latter points 
depends not only upon the size of the canes, but 
their maturity, it is necessary that an equal growth 
be kept up during the whole season. This is easily 
accomplished as the stopping may fortunately be per- 
formed at any time. 

The same directions as to the removal of laterals 
and the clearing of the ground should be observed 
during this as during former years. Greater care is, 
however, required in the treatment of laterals when 
raising fruit-bearing canes, as if by too close pinch- 
ing we should cause the buds which are found at the 
base of the leaves and upon which we depend for 
our next year's fruit to push, our prospects would be 
materially injured. A good rule will be, never to pinch 
out the laterals, and stop the main cane at the same 
time ; and if the vines show a very vigorous growth 
of wood, to allow the laterals to make two leaves 
before stopping them. If the vines are weakly, we 
may stop the laterals as soon as they appear, as in 
this case, the main shoot makes sufficient draft upon 
the roots, to keep all other growth in abeyance. 



104 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER VI. 



MANAGEMENT OF FRUITING VINES. 

At the close of the third season we ought to have 
a vine such as is shown in Fig. 16, consisting of a 
stout, strait, clean stem, 9 to 11 inches high, from the 




Fig. 16. 



top, or head of which springs two horizontal arms, 
each bearing two well ripene<\ canes, 8 to 10 feet long. 



MANAGEMENT OF FRUITING VINES. 105 

and two smaller shoots of from two to five feet. 
The two canes ought next season to produce 3 to 5 
lbs. of fruit each, and their proper care during the 
winter is worthy of our best efforts. 

Winter Protection of the Fruiting Canes. — As 
the vines have now assumed their permanent form 
and size (unless it should be deemed advisable after 
the lapse of a few years to remove each alternate 
vine and so double the extent of trellis allotted to 
the. remainder), it becomes important to settle upon 
a systematic course of procedure in order to facilitate 
our operations, and this remark applies to their pro- 
tection during winter as well as to every other pro- 
cess connected with. them. Of the advantage, we 
had almost said necessity, for winter protection there 
can be no doubt. Some extensive cultivators, at a 
late meeting of the Western IN". Y. Fruit Growers 
Society stated, that they would have made $100 per 
day for the time spent in covering their vines if they 
had done so in the fall of 1858. 

One gentleman asserted that he had lost thousands 
of dollars by neglecting it — and there is probably no 
point in the whole range of grape growling upon 
which cultivators are so thoroughly agreed as this. 
The mere laying down the vines on the ground, cover- 
ing them with snow, laying boards or brush upon or 



106 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

against them have all been found materially to 
increase the next year's product and to improve its 
quality. But these are clumsy expedients, incapable 
of systematic application and unfit for adoption on a 
large scale. 

Where vines are trained to trellises in the manner 
which we have just described, it has been asserted by 
many that it is impossible to lay down the horizontal 
arms so as to cover them, owing to the rigidity of the 
old wood, and in order to avoid this it has been pro- 
posed to leave the head of the vine so low down that 
the arms shall lie on the surface and be always co- 
vered with earth. To this method there are many 
objections. The berries are soiled with every rain, 
clean culture is rendered more difficult, and the sur- 
face roots thrown out by the arms cause a succulent 
growth during moist weather, which suffers during 
the succeeding drought. But if the vines are bent 
down every year, little difficulty need be appre- 
hended on this score, and if the following plan be 
adopted, vines may be bent sufficiently, even when 
they have become old and rigid. 

The method which we have proposed, is to place 
the trellis 8 to 12 inches in advance of the vine, the 
stem being brought forward beneath the first slat or 
rail, and tied up as usual. The accompanying figure 
(17) explains this better than words can express it, and 



MANAGEMENT OF FKUITING VINES. 



307 




Fig. IT. 



it will be readily seen that very little bending is 
required, and even that is so distributed over the 




Pig. 18. 



J 03 OPEN AIK GRArE CULTURE- 

whole stem that no injury can result. Xo practical 
objections that Ave are aware of exist to this method. 
Before bending down the stem, the vine should be 
primed. This consists in cutting off the long shoots 
to a length of four feet (the first season), and the 
alternate short ones to the lowest good bud. The vine 
so primed is shown in Fig. 18. Then the stem, 
having been bent dowm, it will be easy to fold the 
flexible young canes so as to lie compactly to- 
gether, as shown in Fig. 19, when they may be 




Fig. 19. 

covered with earth. The soil for this purpose must 
be light and sandy, and should be so disposed that 
water will not penetrate to the vines. If light soil 
cannot be had, the vines may be pegged clown and 
covered with the branches of evergreens, though it 
is improbable that these could be obtained in suffi- 
cient quantity to protect a large vineyard. Leaves 
or straw would answer, though they might harbor 
mice, which would soon destroy the vines. 

The vines should be left covered as long as possible, 
but must be exposed before the buds begin to push 
in the spring. £To particular day of the month can 



MANAGEMENT OF FUTTITING VINES. 109 

be given, the date varying with the locality and the 
season. The best mode of determining the point is to 
uncover some of the vines as soon as the cold weather 
has passed away. If they are swollen and ready to 
push, it is time to tie the vine to the trellis. If they 
seem still dormant, leave them a little longer. The 
later the vines can be made to push the better, as they 
not only escape late frosts, but their excitability seems 
to be so accumulated and intensified by such retarda- 
tion that their after growth is much more vigorous 
than it would otherwise have been. 

After the vines have been properly tied to the 
trellis, and the ground raked, or hoed level (all work 
on it being avoided when it is wet, however), nothing 
should be done until the buds have burst so as at least 
to show their vitality and strength. Then go over 
the vines and rub off all buds which show themselves 
on the upright stem and horizontal arms and disbud 
the canes so as to leave six good buds, and no more, 
on each. By doing this at this early period, the 
strength of the vine is thrown into the buds which 
remain, and they consequently push with increased 
vigor. The lowest good bud on the short spurs must 
also be left, all the others being removed. 

As soon as the blossoms show themselves, and 
before they have expanded, it will be necessary again 
to go over the vines and stop or pinch all the shoots 



110 EN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

which show fruit, at the same time removing all the 
blossoms excej ;>r three el i shoot. 

This will : serve to keep the vine within 

bounds, but it will cause the fruit : .uch better 

than it would do if this com- not pursued. In 

a former - . :lluded 'p m g with a view 

to the ripening of the wood and the training of the 
vine, and th as there given apply equally to 

our action as regards the sfa ts from the short spurs 
— thev bein^ designed to furnish the bearing 
for next yea -place those which are now fruiting 

and which will be entirelv cut awav at the next winter 
pruning. But other r a so induce us i stop the 

fruit-bearings" :he whole sub' 

ping, and its detrimental s siitni . summer prun- 
ing, is one of vital iniportanc I the grape vine, we 
cam. tter than preface our remarks by 

the physiological laws upon which it is based, : 
Lindley's "Theory and Practice of Horticulture." 
"Nature has given plants leaves, not merelj 
t - to £ .."..; . but as a pa: 

m of life quite as per: : the ani- 

mal kingdom. It would be of no r a plant to 

suck food out of the earth by its roots, unless : 

in which such food, 
ing principally t .nd muciL I be 

ted iDto the matter w\ 



MANAGEMENT OF FEUITING VINES. Ill 

maintains the health of the individual. The stem can- 
not do this: firstly, because it is a mere channel 
through which fluids pass ; and, secondly, because 
many plants have no visible stem, as in the instance of 
the primrose ; and yet in all such cases the plant feeds 
and must digest its food. It is to the leaves that this 
important office is assigned, and to enable them to 
execute it God has formed them with wisdom no less 
infinite than has been displayed in the creation of man. 
The leaves have veins through which their fluids pass 
and cells in which they are held while digesting, 
myriads of little caverns through whose sides respira- 
tion is maintained, a skin to guard them from the air, 
and pores for carrying off perspiration. A leaf is, in 
fact, both stomach and lungs ; and to destroy it is to 
do the same injury to a plant as would be effected in 
an animal by the destruction of the parts to which 
those names are given. Of this we may be certain, 
that neither taste, perfume, color, size, nor any other 
property, can be given to a plant except through the 
assistance of the leaves ; and that the more numerous 
these are, the larger and the more luxuriant, so, within 
certain limits, will be all that a plant is capable of 
forming. Strip the leaves off" a tree, and no more 
wood will appear until the leaves are restored ; feed 
its roots in the hope of thus compensating for the loss 
of its leaves, and the stem will be filled indeed with 



112 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

watery matter ; but the latter will collect in the inte- 
rior until it forces its way through the bark, and runs 
down in putrid streams, as happens to the mulberry- 
tree when it is incessantly stripped for silkworms, 
and as occurs to trees whose leaves are continually 
destroyed by a noxious atmosphere. Strip the ripen- 
ing grapes of their green garments, and no color or 
sweetness will be collected in their berries. Hob the 
potato of its foliage and you will seek in vain for 
nourishment in its tubers ; and so of all things else. 
On the other hand, leave the mulberry, the vine and 
the potato uninjured, to the genial influence of the 
sun and the air, and the dews of heaven, and wood is 
formed in the one case, sugar and color in the other — 
and flour, the staff of life, in the last, and these pro- 
ducts will all be in exact proportion to the health and 

abundance of the foliage 

" But although the general rule is to allow as many 
leaves to remain on a tree as can be kept in health, 
vet there are circumstances which justify their re- 
moval, and, indeed, render it necessary. For example, 
when a tender tree is trained to a wall, a great object 
with the gardener is to secure ripe wood ; for unless 
ha does this, the frost of the succeeding winter may 
destroy the branches, or the buds may be so imper- 
fectly formed as to produce feeble shoots the ensuing 
season. To attain this object, those leaves must be 



MANAGEMENT OF FRUITING VINES. 113 

removed which, prevent the sun from striking upon 
the branches to be ripened, the effect of this being to 
stop the rapid growth of the branches and to consoli- 
date their tissue, in consequence, partly, of the exces- 
sive perspiration, and partly of the rapid digestion of 
the sap, which is thus induced ;for the rate of digestion 
and perspiration in a healthy plant, is in proportion 
to the quantity of light and heat to which it is ex- 
posed. Hence the removal of those shoots which in 
summer overshadow that wood of the peach-tree 
which is intended to be preserved another year, is 
useful ; there can be no doubt, however, that as few 
shoots as possible should be thus removed. Another 
case in which the removal of the leaves is justifiable 
occurs in the vine. In this plant the fruit is borne 
near the base of the lateral shoots, which will, if un- 
checked, go on lengthening and producing leaves to a 
considerable distance. Now all the food of such a 
lateral shoot is obtained from the main branch, which, 
however, is only capable of furnishing a certain 
quantity. If the lateral shoot is allowed to grow un- 
checked, it will consume its portion of food in the 
production of many leaves and some grapes ; and the 
more there is of the former, the less will be the 
weight of the latter. But if the shoot is stopped after 
having formed two leaves, all that quantity of food 
which would have been consumed in the production 



/ 



114 OrEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

of other leaves is applied to the increase of size in the 
grapes, and the two leaves that are left ; while on the 
other hand, the general crop of leaves on the vine will 
be amply sufficient to prepare those secretions which 
are to give flavor, color and sweetness to the grapes. 
This will, perhaps, be better explained by the annexed 
diagram. 

a Let the line a g represent a lateral vine 
branch, bearing fruit at n, and leaves at c d ef. 
Suppose six ounces of sap are destined to sup- 
port this lateral a g, during the summer ; it 
is evident that, if equally distributed, each d 
leaf and branch will receive one ounce of sap c 
as its . proportion. But if e f g are removed, 
it is obvious that the three which remain will 
have two ounces each, or double the supply. a 

'- Why, then, it may be asked, not remove c and d 
also ? because, in that case, n, the bunch of fruit, 
would have the whole six ounces of sap to itself. The 
reason why this should not be done is this : if all the 
leaves on the lateral are removed, there will be no 
force left upon it wherewith to attract from the main 
branch the food that belongs to it; for the power 
which the parts of the plants possess of attracting 
fluid is in proportion to the amount of their perspira- 
tion. Now leaves perspire copiously, but the grapes 
themselves scarcely at all ; whence their gradual con- 



MANAGEMENT OF FRUITING VINES. 115 

version from a substance of the texture ot a leaf into 
a mass of pulp. In the instance of vine pruning, 
the great object is to leave on the laterals just as 
much force as may be required to secure for the 
bunches the food that is intended for them, and at 
the same time to deprive the laterals of the means of 
expending that food uselessly in the production of 
leaves instead of fruit." 

In applying the above to the culture of the grape 
in this country, however, we are inclined to believe 
that the direct access of the sun to the wood or fruit 
is not necessary to their perfect ripening. And our 
readers must also observe that, although in the illus- 
tration at the close of the paragraph, Dr. Lindley 
alludes to the " removal " of the leaves, yet from the 
remarks immediately preceding it, we gather that he 
is no advocate for " summer pruning," but for " stop- 
ping." By summer pruning we mean the removal 
of large quantities of leaves and shoots — a practice 
which is quite common throughout the country. 
Often and often have we seen loads of such matter 
cut away under the pretence of " letting in the sun 
and air to the grapes." Now if these summer prim- 
ers would only observe that all the finest bunches 
grow and ripen under the shade of the leaves, they 
would cease their senseless efforts and rest content 
with merely breaking off the ends of the shoots. 



116 OrEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

That grapes will not ripen well, and that vines will 
not be healthy under a dense mass of matted foliage, 
we freely admit. But this is not an evil to be reme- 
died by the knife. In this case, most emphatically, 
prevention is better that cure. 

"When we reflect that the amount of organizable 
matter which can be furnished by any vine is limited, 
and also that all rank and succulent growth is prejudi- 
cial to the production of fruit, we can readily appre- 
ciate the advantage of directing the sap to the pro- 
duction of fruit, rather than wood and leaves. But 
we must also remember that every ounce of organiz- 
able matter which is embodied in leaves or stem, is 
so much capital invested, and is no more to be thrown 
away than the stock of the moneyed capitalist, which 
only brings in two per cent., even though his neigh- 
bor, on a different investment, receives ten. 

The leaves are the laboratories in which the sap is 
prepared for the nourishment, not only of the fruit, 
but of the wood, and the more of them we have the 
better, provided we do not invest too large an 
amount of our available capital in their production, 
just as some of our farmers invest all their capital in 
land, and leave themselves nothing with which to 
work it. 

Another evil attendant upon summer pruning, is 
the sudden and violent check which it gives to the 



MANAGEMENT OF FRETTING VINES. 117 

plants. The roots being excited into vigoions action 
by the enormous draft made upon them, find them- 
selves suddenly without a channel through which 
their unelaborated product can find vent ; the balance 
of product and supply is upset and the fruit is filled 
with crude, ill-digested sap, thus causing it to be 
unripe and ill-flavored. But by early stopping the 
shoots, and thus preventing the further production of 
leaves and wood, we render summer pruning, that is, 
the removal of superabundant leaves and wood, unne- 
cessary ; no sudden check is given to the vines, the sap 
is fully elaborated as fast as it is supplied, and the 
fruit receiving an extra supply of properly prepared 
sap (which would otherwise have gone to the produc- 
tion of wood and leaves) is enlarged in size and 
improved in flavor. 

That the leaves are the great agents in the elabora- 
tion of sap, was fully proved by the experiments of 
Hales, who forced orange flower-water into the vessels 
of a vine, with a view to impart its flavor to the fruit. 
The experiment was unsuccessful as to its ostensi- 
ble object, but not as to its concomitant results; for he 
traced the flavor through the stem and branches to 
the leaves, but no further ; there it was decomposed, 
and doubtless returned to the wood and fruit in the 
form of sap. 

In a few weeks, or perhaps days, after being 



118 OPEN AIE GRAPE CULTURE. 

stopped, the last bud on all these shoots, will, no 
doubt, burst and form a leader, which will grow nearly 
as vigorously as if the terminal bud had not been 
removed. It will, therefore, be necessary to go over 
all these vines again as soon as the fruit is set, and 
repeat the same operation. At this time, also, the 
fruit should be thinned, which, for vineyard culture, 
consists in the removal of all weak, ill-formed 
bunches, some even recommending the removal of 
the lower part of all the bunches. 

When, however, extra fine bunches are desired, 
we prefer the plan usually adopted in hot-house 
culture, which consists in removing at least one 
half the berries from every bunch — the largest and 
finest being, of course, left. This operation is best 
performed when the grapes are the size of peas, but 
by many it will be deemed too minute and laborious 
an operation for vineyard practice. 

While doing this, it will also be proper to remove 
or extirpate all shoots which either have not fruit, 
or are not wanted for next year's canes. 

During the growing season it will be necessary to 
look over the vines, at intervals of two or three 
weeks, stopping the fruiting shoots, removing suck- 
ers, and pinching out laterals at the second eye. The 
ground should also be kept loose and mellow, and all 
the operations of the vineyard be carried on, with as 



MANAGEMENT OF FKUITING VINES. HO 

little trampling on the borders as possible. Indeed, 
if the expense be not an objection, we would lay 
down boards or planks, supported by suitable stakes 
or posts, and forming a walk along the front of each 
trellis, so as to allow all the work of the vineyard 
being performed without a foot being set upon the 
6oil, 



120 



OPEN Am GRAPE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SUBSEQUENT MANAGEMENT OF THE VINES. 

The future management of the vines will consist in 
training up, each year, a shoot from the intermediate 
spurs, and cutting out entirely the cane which has borne 
the fruit. The cane which was trained up last year, will 
this year produce a crop, while, from the spur left in 
cutting out the former cane, is trained up a shoot for 
the following year, and so on ad infinitum. 

As the peculiar pruning necessary is a subject of 
vital importance to success in grape culture, we will 
grve a consecutive condensed description of it, illus- 
trated by proper figures. 




Fig. 20. 



Fig. 20 shows a section of the horizontal arms,, at 
the end of the third season, a is the cane which Las 



SUBSEQUENT MANAGEMENT OF THIS VINES. 



121 



been trained to the top of the trellis, b the shoot 
which was stopped when two to four feet long. Just 
before laying down the vine for winter protection, A 
is cut to about a length of 4 feet, and b is cut away 
at the cross-line, or just above the first good bud. 

As the force with which the buds push, depends a 
good deal upon their number relatively to the size of 
the vine, it is absolutely necessary to cut off a to 4 
feet or less, and rub out several of the buds which 
appear on it. If, in addition to this, all other buds 
except one from each of the spurs, b, be removed, we 
could scarcely fail to train up a good cane from b, 
bven though none but latent buds were left. 




Fig. 21. 

Next season the figure is reversed. Here b is the 

young shoot of last year, while a, which carries the 

six shoots upon which the fruit grew, is cut off at the 

cross-line, b is shortened this year to 5 or G feet, 

and disbudded as before — one or two more buds 

being left on, as the vine is growing stronger. 

6 



122 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



At the base of a, below the cross-line, will appear 
intermediate little buds — some of them quite promi- 
nent. The best of them must be taken, and no fear 
need be entertained of getting a good cane from it, 
if all the unnecessary buds are promptly extirpated. 

If, however, we allow shoots to grow all over the 
vine we will probably fail to get any cane at all. 

The following season, the shoot proceeding from a 




_--<^ 



Fig. 22. 



is fruited, and b is cut off at the cross-line. This 
stage of its progress is shown in Fig. 22. 




Fig. 23. 



SUBSEQUENT MANAGEMENT OF THE VINES. 



123 



In Fi"\ 23 is shown the vine at the end of the sixth 
season. By this time, the spurs will have become 
hard, and if allowed to remain much longer, it will 
be necessary to renew the whole vine, as is done hi 
the Thomery system (see Appendix). It will, there- 
fore, be well to allow a bud to push from the base 
of b, if one should show itself, as there most likely 




Fig. 24. 

will. In this case, Fig. 24 will represent b as it will 
appear at the close of the season, when the entire 
spur must he cut off with a fine saw, at the cross line, 
and the wound carefully pared smooth and coated 
with a solution of shellac in alcohol.* 

* " Take a quart of alcohol and dissolve it in as much gum shellac as 
will make a liquid of the consistence of paint. Apply this to the 
wound with a common painter's brush ; always paring the wound 
smoothly first with a knife. The liquid becomes perfectly hard, 
adheres closely, excludes the air perfectly, and is affected by no 
changes of weather; while at the same time its thinness offers no 



124 OPEN ALR GRAPE CULTURE, 

The shoot a is cut off at the line, as shown, or just 
above the lowest good bud. Next season, b will 
appear as shown in Fig. 20, and the same routine as 
that first described much be again gone over. 

If we should be unable to obtain the shoot a at the 
time it is wanted (which, however, will not happen 
once in twenty times), we must leave the old spur 
and obtain a shoot from the base of last year's fruit- 
ing cane. 

After a number of years (say six to ten), it maybe 
found advisable to extend the vines. This may be 
done either by removing every second one, or by 
raising the trellis. 

In the latter case it will be best, in order to secure 
an equal distribution of the sap, to lay down two 
courses of horizontal arms and allow the vertical, or 
bearing canes, to extend only half-way up the trellis. 

The proper arrangement for this, is shown in Fig. 
25, where it will be seen that the horizontal arms of 
every second vine are extended both ways, so as to 
cover double their usual space. The stem of the 
centre vine is carried up to the middle of the trellis 
and arms from it laid down, of the same length as the 

resistance to the lip of the new bark that gradually closes over tho 
wound. If the composition is kept in a well corked bottle, suffi- 
ciently wide mouthed to admit the brush, it will always be ready for 
use and suited to the want of the moment." — Downing. 



SUBSEQUENT MANAGEMENT OF THE VINES. 125 

lower ones. The fruiting canes are produced and 
treated in the manner just described. 




Fig. 25. 

In order to effect the change, the lower arms may 
be extended by laying down the outer fruit canes of 
last year and pruning their junction with the old wood 
so as to leave a continuous rod. To produce the 
upper arms, however, it will, we think, be found best 
to cut the vines down to the ground and train up new 
stems, arms and verticals. The loss of time incurred 
will be more than repaid by the increased vigor 
and health of the vine. 

That the general system of culture here laid down 



126 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

is the best for all ordinary purposes, we are firmly 
convinced. The extent allowed to the vine during 
its first few years, is amply sufficient for the produc- 
tion of an abundant crop, while at the same time the 
vine is so far kept within bounds, that every bud is. 
pushed with vigor. And this will be found to be one 
of the most important points connected with the 
proper training of the vine. For when the balance 
between the vital forces of the plant and the extent to 
which it is allowed to extend, is greatly disturbed, as 
exemplified in the opposite extremes of stake train- 
ing and total neglect, nothing but debility on the 
one hand, and the inordinate production of wor d ta 
the exclusion of fruit on the other, can result. 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 12? 



CHAPTER Yin. 

GENERAL THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING AS AP- 
PLIED to THE GRAPE VINE. 

In the preceding chapters we have given nitrite 
directions for that particular system of pruning and 
training, which we believe to be best adapted to our 
native grapes. It is now our purpose to detail those 
general principles which apply to all modes of prun- 
ing and training, and to describe a few of those pecu- 
liar systems which have been founded upon them. 

I. The first principle upon which all correct prun- 
ing, whether of the vine or any other tree, must be 
based, is that the sap always tends to the extremities 
of the branches. 

From this, it follows that unless the balance be- 
tween the roots and branches of the vine be care- 
fully and accurately adjusted, all the lower portion 
of the old wood will become devoid of spurs or bear- 
ing shoots, and unless the portion of the wall or trel- 
lis over which it is trained is otherwise occupied, the 
space will be left practically vacant. 

Experience has also shown that there is no practi 



1£3 OPEN AIK GRAPE CULTURE. 

cal limit to this law — that is, that the distance to 
which the sap may he propelled exceeds any limits to 
which it is ever necessary to carry it. 

" If the shoots of the vine are trained along a con- 
siderable extent of wall, the branches spread out much 
wider, and the berries attain a larger size. This 
property of the vine, although known to experienced 
gardeners, is not taken advantage of as it ought to be. 
A vine might be trained horizontally under the cop- 
ing of a wall to a great distance, and by inverting the 
bearing shoots, the spaces between the other fruit- 
trees and the top of the wall could readily be filled 
up, and if different vines were inarched to the hori- 
zontal branch, the south wall of a large garden might 
be furnished with a variety of sorts from the stem 
and root of a single plant, the roots of which would 
not encumber the border in which the other fruit- 
trees are growing. I have an experiment of this kind 
now in progress in my garden. Within a few years 
past, 1 have gradually trained bearing branches of a 
small black cluster grape, to the distance of near 
fifty feet from the root, and I find the bunches every 
year grow larger, and ripen earlier as the shoots con- 
tinue to advance. 

" According to Mr. Knight's theory of the circula- 
lation of the sap, the ascending sap must necessarily 
become enriched by the nutritious particles it meeta 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 129 

with iii its progress through the vessels of the albur- 
num ; the wood at the top of the tall trees, therefore, 
becomes short-jointed and full of blossom buds, and 
the fruit there situated attains its greatest perfection. 
Hence, we find pine and fir-trees loaded with the 
finest cones on the top boughs, the largest acorns 
grow on the terminal branches of the oak, and the 
finest mast on the high boughs of the beech and 
chestnut; so, likewise, apples, pears, cherries, etc., 
are always best flavored from the top of the tree 
But I suppose there are certain limits, beyond which 
the sap would be so loaded with nutriment, that it 
could not freely circulate." 

The sap being determined so powerfully to the 
extremities of the branches, the most unremitting 
attention is required upon the part of the vine 
dresser, so that the bearing shoots may be equally 
distributed along the entire plant and an equal 
amount of nutriment directed to each. 

But if through negligent management the bearing 
shoots or spurs are allowed to die out on the lower 
part of the vine, it will be difficult, if not impossible, 
to replace them. 

By judicious pruning, the entire head of the vine 
may be so reduced that there will be abundant nutri- 
ment for all the buds, and by promptly and carefully 
stopping the more vigorous shoots, the sap may bo 



130 OPEN AIR GRATE CULTURE. 

so directed to the weaker ones that no difficulty of 
this kind need occur. 

II. In this connection, we may consider a rule — 
which is laid down as a principle, however, by most 
arboricultural authorities — the buds are developed 
with greater vigor upon a branch which is cut short, 
than upon one which is left long. 

This is true, but must be accepted with limitations. 
If there be two shoots springing from the same stem, 
one being pruned short and the other long, the buds 
on the long branch will be developed with the great- 
est vigor. If, however, the shoots be upon different 
stems, the buds upon that which is pruned most 
closely will push most strongly. 

This we might anticipate, from the fact that there 
is more root power (if we may use the expression) to 
a given number of buds. But experiment would lead 
us to believe that if the lower buds are removed so 
that the same number of eyes are left on both, the 
longest would have the advantage — at least at first. 

But as sap moves with greater difficulty through 
old than through young wood, the shortest shoot soon 
overtakes its companion and outstrips it. This prin- 
ciple is well exemplified in the rampant growth of 
those suckers which spring from old vines near the 
ground. They will frequently grow twenty or thirty 
feet in a season, while the strongest shoots at the 



rETJNING GRAPE vnrEB. 131 

extremities of the old branches do not exceed from 
five to eight. 

Upon these principles is founded the rule which 
directs ns to cut back plants which have made a 
weak growth, or have become old, gnarled and hard, 
so that the j may throw up strong, vigorous shoots. 

III. The sap supplied by the roots must be elabo- 
rated by the leaves, before it is fitted for the forma- 
tion of wood or fruit, and the development of the 
roots is in direct proportion to the increase of leaves. 

From this, it follows : 1st. That it is injurious to 
remove the leaves from the plant, with a view to 
ripen the fruit by the admission of sun and air (this 
point has been fully discussed, page 110, et seq). 

2. That during the first two years' growth of the 
plants, the production of leaves should be encouraged 
as much as possible, so as to aid in the development 
of roots. Hence the plants should be carefully tied 
up, so as to preserve the leaves clean, active and unin- 
jured, and abundant light and air should be furnished, 
so that they may be able to perform their part with 
efficiency. This being the case, it may be asked why 
we advise the stopping of the laterals which certainly 
form leaves, and hence must increase the growth of 
the roots. Two reasons may be given for the practice 
cither of which are ample. The first is that it is not 
the leaves, jper se, which do-good, but their action on 



133 OPJ-.N AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

the sap, to eii'ect which, they must be supplied with 
air and light. Now, if the leaves on the laterals are 
allowed to grow, they crowd the foliage at the base 
of the plant, so that many of the leaves are partially 
shaded, while if these laterals are prevented from 
growing, the sap which would be absorbed by them 
goes to the elongation and enlargement of the main 
stem, by which the leaves are disposed over a greater 
surface and consequently maintain a more vigorous 
action. And, as during the first two years at least, 
the production of canes well ripened in their whole 
length, is no object, seeing that they are all to be cut 
away at the winter pruning, the vines should not be 
stopped, but should be allowed to grow to the end of 
the season. For as the roots require a certain degree 
of warmth to enable them to grow, and as the earth 
is in the best condition as regards temperature, just 
at the close of the growing season, it is best to main- 
tain a vigorous action in the roots at that time — a 
time when they can make the most of it. 

The second reason is, that the sap, as before stated, 
flows most vigorously through stout, free-growing 
shoots. Now, by removing the laterals, we increase 
the vigor of the main stem as well as its size, and 
hence not only obtain an enlarged, but a more 
suitable channel for the sap to flow in. The conse- 
quence is, that a well trained shoot will far exceed the 



PRUNING GKAPE VINES. 133 

aggregate of the same shoot and its laterals, if it be 
neglected during its growth. 

IV. The more the sap is impeded in its course, the 
less vigorous will be the shoots produced, bnt the 
greater the tendency to bear fruit. This is exempli- 
fied in the pear-tree, where the branches are bent in 
order to produce fruit buds, and also in the common 
practice of bending the canes of the vine into bows 
and spirals, so that the buds may burst equally and 
produce fruit. 

V. Whatever tends to diminish the vigor of the 
shoots and to force the sap into the fruit, enlarges 
the size and improves the flavor of the latter. 

Upon this law depends the practice of summer 
pruning, which has been fully discussed in a previous 
chapter. And as it is necessary not only to diminish 
the vigor of the shoots, but to force the sap thereby 
saved into the fruit, the object of destroying all fruit- 
less shoots (in bearing vines) is obvious, as well as 
the necessity of attending to the health of the roots. 

Such are the general principles which should regu- 
late the proper pruning of all trees ; though they 
have been expressed chiefly with reference to the 
vine. In pruning with a view to the production of 
fruit, however, it is necessary to know the peculiar 
fruit-bearing habit of the plant under consideration. 
Thus upon the peach, fruit is always borne upon the 



134: OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

last year's shoots ; the pear hears its fruit upon spurs 
which have heeu formed during the previous year, 
upon old wood, and the fruit of the vine is always 
borne upon shoots of the current year, these shoots 
proceeding from either last year's shoots, or wood, 
which is much older. The last assertion is one which 
conflicts with the statements of most of our pomolo- 
gists, and therefore it is incumbent upon us to give 
some evidence of its truth. Thus, Barry says: 

" It must be observed, that the grape vine pro- 
duces its fruit on shoots of the current year produced 
from eyes on the previous year's wood." 

Du Breuil is more positive, and states that shoots 
which accidentally spring from old wood never pro- 
duce grapes. His words are : " Dans la vigne, les 
grappes sont attachees sur des bourgeons naissantsur 
les sarments formes pendant l'ete precedent. Les 
bourgeons developpes accidentellement sur le vieux 
bois ne portent jamais des grappes." 

We were rather surprised at this assertion, as it 
appeared to contradict our own observation. But 
lest it misrht be that the shoots which we had in view, 

CD 

had been produced by the remains of last year's 
rubbed out buds, we carefully watched a piece of old 
wood during one season, so as to assure ourselves 
that no buds had sprung from it between certain 
marked points. Next season the head of this oh] 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 135 

vine was pruned so severely as to cause several 
shoots to issue from the previously barren wood. 
Two of these bore fruit. 

In performing this experiment, we kept carefully 
in view the difficulties attendant upon bringing it to 
a successful result, and although we succeeded in 
getting fruit from only two out of nine shoots, still, 
this was sufficient to establish the point. In perform- • 
ing it, care will be necessary to prune with sufficient 
severity to force the buds out of the barren wood, 
and yet to leave sufficient head to draw up the sap 
and prevent the too vigorous growth of the shoots 
after they are formed ; otherwise the blossoms may 
change to tendrils. This experiment does not sug- 
gest any newer or better mode of priming the vine, 
but it throws new light upon the laws which govern 
the formation of fruit buds, and exemplifies the fact 
that they are formed where the vital forces of the vine 
are so balanced that there is sufficient vigor and 
material to form fruit, and yet not so much rampant 
growth as to rob the blossoms of their necessary 
nutriment and convert them into tendrils. 

That they are so convertible, every cultivator is 
aware, for it often happens that the hopes of the 
unskillful vine-dresser are disappointed — his fine 
show of blossom buds, turning out nothing but ten- 
drils. 



136 OPEN ATE GRAPE CULTURE. 

We "believe tlie converse of this was first shown by 
Knight, from whose papers we make the following 
extract : " Every bunch of grapes commences its 
formation as a tendril, and it is always within the 
power of every cultivator to occasion it to remain a 
tendril. The blossoms are all additions, the forma- 
tion of which is always dependent upon other agents ; 
and if any. considerable part of the leaves be taken 
off the branch prematurely, or if the vine be not sub- 
jected to the influence of the requisite degree of heat 
and light, the tendrils will permanently retain their 
primary form and office ; and it is very frequently 
observable, when much of the foliage of fruit-trees 
has been destroyed, by insects, or when the previous 
season has been cold and wet, that blossoms are 
not formed at all, or are feeble and imperfect, and 
consequently abortive. • • • • 

"The tendrils of the vine, in its internal organiza- 
tion, is apparently similar to the young succulent 
shoot and leaf stalk of the same plant, it is abun- 
dantly provided with vessels, or passages for the sap, 
and it is alike capable of feeding a succulent shoot or 
a leaf when grafted upon it. It appears, therefore, 
not improbable, that a considerable quantity of the 
moving fluid of the plant passes through its tendrils ; 
and that there is a close connection between its vas- 
cular structure and its motions." 



PRUNING GEAPE TINES. 



107 



The various systems of vine pruning which have 
been founded upon these general principles, may be 
classified according to the part of the vine from which 
the fruit buds are produced. Thus, if we suppose a 




Fie. 2G. 



to be a shoot of last year ; b a spur two years old, and 
g a branch three years old, then we may by judicious 
pruning obtain fruit, first from the plump buds a a 
on the young cane a ; secondly from the buds I o 
near its base ; thirdly from the buds e which will be 
found at its junction with the spurn; and fourthly 
from buds situated at y, that is at the junction of the 
spur n with the branch c. In the latter case, how- 
ever, if the spur b is old and has borne several shoots 
like a it will require some skill and very favorable 



138 OPEN AIK GKAPE CULTURE. 

circumstances to procure fruit from the buds at f. 
But if b be always kept short, and no shoots be al- 
lowed except from its base, no difficulty of this 
kind will arise. Following this arrangement, then, we 
have : 

I. The long-rod renewal system. 

II. The long-spur system. 

III. The short, or secondary-spur system. 

IV. The close-cut, or primary spur system. 
This system of classification we believe to be the 

onlv true one, although, we are not aware that it has 
been adopted by any preceding author. Each of 
these four systems is not only distinct, but it may be 
adapted to almost any system of training, while none 
of them can be well combined in the same vine, un- 
less the power of the roots is greatly in excess over 
the extent of the branches. Suppose, for example, 
on a vine with a well balanced head, a few long rods 
are left. No buds will start from the base of the 
spurs. But if all parts are treated alike, the eyes will 
break equally and in general will be all fruitful. The 
facility with which this principle may be explained 
and enforced is greatly increased by a clear and sys- 
tematic classification, such as we have given above, 
and most authors have been aware of the importance 
of such a classification ; but if the reader will com- 
pare the attempts of Loudon, who depends in Ins 



PRUNING GKAPE VINES. 139 

classification, not only upon the system of pruning, 
but of training; of Mcintosh, whose three systems are 
" the spur," " the long-rod," and " the irregular " 
forms; of McPhail, who has the "fruit-tree method;" 
" the spurring-in system" and " the long-rod sytem ;" of 
Yon Babo, who has "head pruning," "limb prun- 
ing," "frame pruning," and several sub-varieties 
named after the localities in which they have been 
adopted ; and most of our American authors, who have 
simply the renewal and spur methods, with that given 
above, we think he cannot but give his preference to 
the latter. And as all systems of pruning with which 
we have ever met may be easily referred to one or 
the other of our four classes, we will describe them in 
detail and give a few illustrations of each, as derived 
from the practice of our best growers. 

I. The long rod or renewal system is generally 
attributed to Clement Hoare, who adopted it in his 
" Practical treatise on the Cultivation of the Yine," and 
as he has not seen fit to give the credit of it to prior 
authors, most of his readers have awarded it to 
him. But it is substantially the " new method " of 
Switzer; the alternate system of Speedily, and the 
" new and experimentally proved superior method" 
of Kecht. It is certainly very old, though it is still 
commonly called the "new method." 

The system which we have adopted as the best for 



140 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

vineyards and gardens in the northern States where 
our native vines are cultivated is substantially the 
system explained by Hoare. The system pursued in 
Ohio and in many European vineyards, is also a 
modification of the long-rod system, but as we pro- 
pose to give a full accouut of Ohio vine culture 
amongst our examples of American vineyard prac- 
tice, we need not dwell upon it here. 

The following are a few of the most elegible modi- 
fications which have been proposed : 

Mr. John Mearns, in the Horticultural Transactions, 
(vol. iv.) describes a system which is not only well 
adapted to the hot-house culture of the vine, but is 
one of the best with which we are acquainted where 
it is desired to fruit quickly, a great variety of grape 
vines in a small place. This method is as follows : 

" My method of managing vines is in some respects 
different from any other with which I am acquainted ; 
by it I have never failed, for the last eleven years, to 
obtain invariably the same luxuriant crops, although 
I have never allowed above one-third of the bunches 
which showed themselves to remain on the vine ; and 
each succeeding crop has been as uniform as if the 
branches had been placed, artificially, over the whole 
roof. I have no doubt but, under the same treat 
meiit, the vines will continue to be equally produc- 
tive for any length of time. The shoots are so vigor- 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 141 

ous that their girth is, generally, at the end of the 
season, from an inch and a half to an inch and three 
quarters. The branches, in their most luxuriant 
growth, never appear in any confusion, even to those 
who are but little skilled in the cultivation of grapes, 
and. the method is so simple, that it may be described 
with the assistance of figures, so as to be perfectly com- 
prehended by any person in the least acquainted with 
the nature of the vine. I have never deviated from 
it since I planted the vines in the spring of 1806. 

" My vines were planted two feet and a half apart, 
and being watered to settle the earth round their 
balls, I headed them down to within a foot of the soil, 
as here represented. 




Fig. 27. 

"I only allowed one shoot to proceed from each 
plant the first year ; rubbing off all the others before 
they had completely burst into leaf, the uppermost be- 
ing the one I retained. In the course of the summer I 
watered them with soft pond water, as I found they 
wanted it, and frequently with drainings from the 
farm-yard, and with soap suds, when I could procure 
any. 

" During the first summer, the vines made quite as 



142 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

much progress as I could have expected, and their 
different degrees of vigor were nearly in proportion 
to the state of the roots when planted. When the 
leaves had fallen in the end of the year, I cut them 
down to the second or third eye, when they had this 
appearance. (Fig. 28.) 




Fig. 28. 

" In the beginning of the succeeding February, I ex- 
cited them gradually into action by a little fire heat, 
and when the buds were ready to burst I rubbed all 
off but the two finest on each plant ; the strongest of 
these I intended to furnish bearing wood for the 
lower half of the roof for the following year. The 
most feeble of the two was cut down to the second or 
third eye, at the end of the season, and at the same 
time the strongest shoot was reduced to eight 
feet, being the length of the lower half of the rafter. 

Whilst they were growing during the second sum- 
mer, I kept the shoots regularly trained upward, di- 
vesting them of tendrils and laterals. I only allowed 
the strongest of the two leading shoots to run about 
three, four or five joints beyond the middle of thy 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 



14; 



roof (where I intended to cut them at their winter 
pruning), according to the vigor of the different 
shoots ; and then I pinched off their tops, in order to 
strengthen the ejes for the ensuing season. The 
weaker shoots I only suffered to run about three four, 
or five feet, according to their strength, and I then 
pinched off their tops, never allowing them to push 
above two or three eyes from the same place, during 
the remainder of the season, without pinching them 
back ; and then retaining only a single eye, unless I 
found it necessary, in consequence of the vigor of the 

04 Os* & 




Pig. 29. 



vine. I kept the laterals stopped back also to the first 
leaf. At the fall of the leaf, I cut the leading shoots 



14:4 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

at the middle of the rafter, and the lower one at the 
the eye, as is here represented. (Fig. 28.) 

"The preceding sketch represents four separate 
vine-plants, at the end. of the second season after 
the j had been planted, when the strongest shoot had 
been headed down to the middle of the rafter d, and 
the weakest shoot to c. 

In the third season, I carefully preserved the upper- 
most shoot from the end of my bearing branch at d, 
as a leader to furnish the upper part of the rafter 
with bearing wood for the next year; and I also 
trained upward the leading shoot from the bottom 
spur c, which I intended should become the bearing 
branch for the lower half of the roof in the follow- 
ing season. I w T as careful that none of the tops of 
these leaders should meet ( with accident, till they had 
reached their destination for the season — that was 
about three or four joints beyond where they were 
intended to be cut down, to the winter pruning. All 
the buds on the bottom spur c, were rubbed off, 
except the leading one. As I bore in mind the neces- 
sity of a bottom spur to produce a succession shoot 
from the bottom in the following year, which was 
necessary to the regularity of the system I contem- 
plated, I selected one of the most convenient buds 
for my purpose, from the bottom of the old stems, all 
of which were now putting out several buds ; but I 



y^TETSTG GEAPE VINES, .145 

suffered none except the selected one, to remain long 
after it had made its appearance. The management 
of the young shoots of the year was, in this and the 
following seasons, the same as I have before detailed. 
" In the autumn of this, the third season, the lower 
, half of the house was furnished with a crop of ripe 
grapes upon the wood of the preceding year, and 
parallel to it on each vine grew a young shoot, 
intended to bear the lower crop the next year ; 
whilst the upper half of the house had single shoots 
trained from the end of the bearing wood, which 
shoots were also to bear a crop the next year ; and 
besides these, a. third shoot on each vine had been 
trained from the bottom bud, which I had not 
removed, and which were about four feet in length, 
having been treated as the weaker shoots in the 
second year's management, which I have described, 
and to which they were similar. "When this half 
crop wns gathered and the leaves had dropped, I cut 
off the top leaders level with the uppermost wire of 
the house to which they w T ere tied, and the lower 
leadera level with the middle of the roof (the top 
and bottom leaders, or bearing wood for the next sea- 
son, being each eight feet long), and the bottom or 
weak shoot, above described, was cut down to the 
second or third eye, as the lower shoot had been cut 

in the preceding winter. All the spurs of thr lowo 

1 



Mfl 



OPEN AIR GRAPE GCLTERE. 




Fig. 80. 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 147 

part of the shoot, which had now reached the top of 
the house and had borne the crop of grapes, were 
cut clean out. The following was the appearance of 
the same four vines, after they had been pruned in 
the third winter, when they were in a state to pro- 
duce their full crop in the following season. (Fig. 30.) 

In the fourth summer a full crop was produced 
both in the upper and lower half. of the house; the 
longer shoot d bore its bunches on the upper half of 
its length, and it was not suffered to extend itself by 
a leading shoot ; the shorter shoot c bore its bunches 
on its whole length, and extended itself by a leading 
shoot to the top of the house ; the spur e was suffered 
to become a shoot, extending a few joints beyond half 
the length of the rafter, and from the bottom of the 
old wood a weaker shoot, as before, was trained, to 
become the foundation of the lower shoot of the 
next season. In the pruning season, d, which had 
become the longest branch in the previous winter, 
was entirely cut away from the bottom ; the shorter 
branch c, which had now become the longest, was 
stripped of its spurs on its lower half of the old wood, 
and its upper half was left for bearing ; the extended 
spur e, became the lower bearing branch, and the 
weak shoot f (Fig. 31.) at the bottom, was reduced to 
a spur, to furnish the lower wood for the next year. 

The following figure represents the plants aftex 



H8 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 




n*. 81. 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 149 

* being primed the fourth season, the sides being 
reversed. 

With this alternation of pruning, the system lias 
been continued to the present time, and may con- 
tinue as long as it shall be desirable to have the house 
in bearing. 

During the last four years, I have stopped the 
bearing branches at the bunch, instead of the next 
joint above it, which is the usual practice ; for I 
found that the fruit did equally well and it divested 
the branch of an incumbrance, while it allowed a 
much larger portion of light to come into the house, 
together with a more free circulation of air among 
the fruit and young wood. 

1 blind all the eyes on each fruit spur as soon as 
they push, except the uppermost, which I retain to 
draw up the sap to nourish the fruit. I never suffer 
them to push above a joint or two, before I pinch 
them back, always cautiously retaining an eye. By 
constant stopping, the eyes soon increase to a large 
cluster, when I frequently find it expedient to pinch 
out a great part of them with my finger nails, unless 
I see danger of its exciting my next year's fruiting 
eyes to burst prematurely. I am particularly cau- 
tious that nothing shall happen to injure the leaf that 
accompanies the bunch, for if that is lost, the fruit, of 
course, will come to nothing. 



150 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



During the summer I inspect the vines regularly 
every morning ; seeing that the ends of my leaders 



1/ / V / 




Fie. 32. 



are in their proper places, and not obstructed ; pick- 
ing off tendrils and stopping the laterals above the 




Fig. 83. 



first leaf, on my next year's bearing wood, tying 
down fruit spurs carefully, and stopping any shoot 
that may have sprung from the ends of them; at 



PRUNING GKAPE VINES. 



151 



well as other shoots that may come out from the pre 
viously stopped laterals. 

Fig. 32 shows a simple method of training wines 
to a trellis formed of light stakes or a couple of 




Fig. M. 



wires. If trained on the plan shown in Fig 33 
neither stakes nor trellises w r ill be required. 

II. The long-spur system is that upon which old 
vines are trained, and consists in cutting the to tin a 



152 OPEN AIK GRAPE CULTURE. 

wood the previous year, back to three or four eyes, 
all weak shoots and dead wood being removed. 

Sir J. Paxton, in the " Gardener's Chronicle " for 
1842, gives the following directions for pruning 
vines on the spur system. The cut there given (Fig. 
34) has been often reproduced, but in general it has 
been so reduced that the character of the shoots is not 
clearly seen : 

" It represents a portion of the vine when pruned 
in autumn, on the spur system, with short rods of 
five or six eyes each, left at convenient intervals on 
the oldest branches throughout the vine. The per- 
pendicular main shoots should not be less than two 
feet apart, and when pruning them no useless eyes 
should be left, that is, no eye should be allowed to 
remain but where a shoot is desired in the following 
season. By attending to this, the vine will not have 
to develop (as is usually the case), an immense quam 
tity of superfluous branches ; and although the ope- 
ration may appear a tedious one at the time of prun- 
ing, an immense saving of labor and time may be 
effected at a busier period in the spring, and the 
quantity of fruit may be easier regulated in propor- 
tion to the strength of the vine. If this is attended 
to, nothing will be required in the summer but 
securing the young fruit-bearing shoots to the wall, 
and shortening them to one joint above the bunch 



PKUNING GRAPE VINES. 153 

as soon as the fruit is set, excepting the leading 
shoots, which should not be stopped until the lower 
part is ripened ; otherwise the main ey es for the next 
season may be induced to grow prematurely. J n 
autumn the young wood from the spurs is shortened 
back to one, or at most, to two eyes, and the terminal 
shoots in proportion to their strength ; but for the 
strongest wood, from eight to twelve eyes will be found 
as many as will break well. 

" When commencing to train a young vine in this 
manner, the side branches should not be brought to 
the horizontal position at first, but lowered gradually 
as the number of suitable branches for upright stems 
are obtained ; by this means they acquire strength 
faster than if trained horizontally at first." 

It is obvious that this system is nearly the same as 
the long rod, or renewal system — the difference being 
that instead of taking several of the upper buds on 
each young cane, we use only one and have a great 
many canes or spurs. 

The only real advantage to be derived from it (so 
far as we are able to judge), and that upon which its 
distinctive features is founded, is that the buds from 
which the next year's crop is to be obtained are 
always well ripened. We would, therefore, £>refer it 
to the first system, where the vines are tender, or the 
climate unfavorable, and deem it of sufficient impor- 



154 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



tance to give in detail a method of treating the spurs 
during a series of years. 




Fig. 35. 

Fig. 35 (a) shows a portion of a young cane which 
may either form part of the vertical branches on a 
trellis, or the single stem of a young vine. The first 
season of fruiting, the tendrils should be cut off and 
the buds thinned to from six to ten inches apart, 
depending upon the vigor of the variety ; and so that 
they will be alternately on different sides of the cane, 
thus leaving the buds on each side from 12 to 20 




Fig. 3G. 



inches apart. Not more than four or five buds should 
be left on a cane during the first season. 



PKUNING GKAPE VINES. 



155 



At the close of the first season, after the leaves 
have fallen, the cane will present the appearance 
f shown in Fig. 36. Here a is the main cane; b is the 
shoot produced by the buds on Fig. 35 ; and c is a bud 
at the base of this shoot. Prune the shoot b to one 
plump bud, as shown in the figure and allow the bud 
c to push and form a shoot ; stopping it, however, as 
soon as it has made a few leaves. 




Fig. 37. 

Next season we will have the shoot d, (Fig. 37) wit! 
several nice, plump buds, and the old spur b, with it. 
shoot which bore fruit last year. Cut d back to one 
or two eyes, and cut b away entirely. The buds on l 
will push and bear fruit, and a bud will, no doubt, 
push from the base to form the spur for next year. 

Fig. 38 shows the next winter pruning. From 
tins description, it is obvious that we must, each 
year, have eyes to produce, not only fruit, but a 



156 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



young cane, wliich will form the spur for next year. 
If we depend for this spur upon last year's fruiting 




Fig. 38. 

shoots, our spur will soon become so long, and our 
vine so encumbered with old wood as to be quite 
unmanageable, unless we adopt the system to be next 
described : 

III. Here we depend for our fruit upon buds pro- 
ceeding from the base of last year's fruiting shoot, 
this fruiting shoot being borne upon a spur attached 
to the main branch. This is the system of pruning 
adopted at Thomery, and as no good description of 
it is be found in any American publication with 
which we are acquainted, we give the very full and 
lucid account by M. Dubreuil — a translation of which 
may be found at the close of the volume. 

IV. In the short-spur, or Thomery system, the 
fruit-bearing shoot proceeds from a spur on the main 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 157 

branch, whicli although short, is still a spur. Theory, 
however, would lead us to suppose that it might just 
as well proceed from the junction of last year's 
fruit-bearing shoot with the main branch. 



15$ OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER IX. 

WALLS AND TRELLISES THEIR INFLUENCE AND CON- 
STRUCTION. 

Although the influence of the various forms of 
walls, trellises and stakes upon the growth and matu- 
rity of the vine depends somewhat upon the system of 
pruning and training pursued in connection with 
them, still, it cannot be doubted but that their forms 
and the materials of which they are made also exert 
an influence which is by no means to be disregarded. 

In this country, walls devoted to the culture of the 
vine have not been used to a sufficient extent, to 
afford reliable data as to the benefit to be derived from 
them. Many single vines, however, are trained on 
the ends of houses and along board fences, and from 
a careful examination of several such examples, we 
are inclined to believe that in exposed situations the 
erection of cheap walls would pay well, even in vine- 
yards. 

When vines are judiciously trained in front of 
brick walls and at a few inches' distance from them, 
the grapes uniformly ripen sooner than those on 



WALLS AND TRELLISES 159 

exposed trellises. The wood also is more perfectly 
matured, and this, during a succession of years, exerts 
a considerable and favorable influence on the vine. 

The effect of walls doubtless depends upon two 
causes, one being the higher temperature produced 
by the radiation from the surface of the solid Avail, 
and the other being the protection from wind and 
storms which such a structure affords. 

That the latter point is one of material importance, 
we are well satisfied, for however essential ventilation 
may be to the healthy growth of the vine, all violent 
winds and cold blasts are to be studiously avoided. 

A striking instance of this is to be seen in the gar- 
den of a gentleman of this city. Several vines are 
there trained along the east side of a high board fence, 
and although the same judicious and systematic care 
is given to all parts of the vines, yet the finest fruit is 
uniformly found a foot or two below the top of the 
fence. Now when we remember that on all open 
trellises the finest grapes are found at the top, since 
all trees produce the best fruit at the extremities of 
the branches, we must attribute no mean effect to the 
protection afforded by the fence, since the boards of 
which it is composed can scarcely be supposed to 
retain and radiate much heat, and its height (about 
eight feet) is not sufficient to include the limit to 
which vines may be judiciously carried. 



160 OPEN A[R GRAPE CULTURE. 

" The actual temperature to wliicli a tree trained 
upon a wall facing the sun is exposed is much higher 
than that of the surrounding air, not only because it 
receives a larger amount of the direct solar rajs, but 
because of the heat received by the surrounding 
earth, reflected from it and absorbed by the wall 
itself. Under such circumstances the secretions of 
the plant are more fully elaborated than in a more 
shady and colder situation, and by aid of the greater 
heat and dryness in front of a south wall, the period 
of maturity is much advanced. In this way we suc- 
ceed in procuring a Mediterranean or Persian sum- 
mer in these northern latitudes. 

" When the excellence of fruit depends upon its 
sweetness, the quality is exceedingly improved by 
such an exposure to the sun ; for it is found that the 
quantity of sugar elaborated in a fruit is obtained by 
an alteration of the gummy, mucilaginous, and gela- 
tinous matters previously formed in it, and the quan 
tity of those matters will be in proportion to the 
amount of light to which the tree, if healthy, has 
been exposed. Hence the greater sweetness of plums, 
pears, etc., raised on walls from those grown on 
standards. It has been already stated that an 
increase of heat has been sought for on walls by 
blackening them, and we are assured in the £ Horti- 
cultural Transactions ' (III. 330) that, in the cultiva- 



WALLS AND TRELLISES. 1G1 

tion of the grape, this lias been attended with the 
best effects. But, unless when trees are young, the 
wall ought to be covered with foliage during the sum- 
mer, and the blackened surface would scarcely a 
and in the spring the expansion of the flowers wouiu 
be hastened by it, which is no advantage in cold, late 
springs, because of the greater liability of early 
flowers to perish from cold. That a blackened surface 
does produce a beneficial effect upon trees trained 
over it is, however, probable, although not by 
hastening the maturation of the fruit ; it is by raising 
the temperature of the wall in autumn, when the 
leaves are falling, and the darkened surface becomes 
uncovered, that the advantages are perceived by a 
better completion of the process of growth, the result 
of which is the ripening the wood. This is indeed 
the view taken of it by Mr. Harrison, who found the 
practice necessary, in order to obtain crops of pears 
in late seasons at Wortley, in Yorkshire (see ' Plort. 
Trans.' III. 330 and YI. 453.) It hardly need be 
added that the effect of blackening will be in propor- 
tion to the thinness of the training and vice versa." 
— Lindley. 

The articles referred to by Lindley, being short 
and practical, it may be well to transcribe them. 
Henry Dawes writes thus to Sir Joseph Banks : " I 
take the iiberty of communicating to you my remarks 



182 OPEN AIE GEAPE CULTURE. 

on a garden, wall, on which I have been making 
experiments at Slough. It faces the south, and 
against it, about the middle, a young grape vine is 
trained. Two years ago I covered a portion of the 
wall with thick black paint. The vine was divided 
into two equal parts, one half was trained on the 
painted, and the other on the plain wall. The sea- 
son was so unfavorable last year, that scarcely any 
out-door grapes came to perfection ; but those in the 
blackened part of the wall were much finer than those 
on the plain part. This year the success of my expe- 
riment has been complete. The weight of fine 
grapes gathered from the blackened part of the wall 
was 20 lbs. 10 oz., while the plain part yielded only 
7 lbs. 1 oz., being little more than one-third of the 
other. The fruit on the blackened part of the wall 
was also much finer, the bunches were larger and 
ripened better than on the other half; the wood of 
the vine was likewise stronger and more covered with 
leaves on the blackened part. 

u It is a generally known fact, that a black, unpo- 
lished surface absorbs more rapidly than other colors 
the sun's rays, and thereby becomes sooner heated. 
It is equally well known that surfaces which absorb 
heat more quickly, part with it more easily when the 
source of heat is withdrawn, and cool quicker. In 
the summer time, when the days are long, the wall 



WALLS AND TEELLISES. 163 

will be more intensely heated under the blackened 
surface, and the night (or time of cooling) being short, 
it may not have returned to the temperature of the 
air, before it is again subjected to an increase of heat. 
If the time of cooling were long enough, that part of 
the wall under the blackened surface, might become 
actually cooler than the part not blackened, and thus 
the extremes of heat and cold be greater than when 
the wall was left with its usual surface. In the sum- 
mer time, however, the wall is not only more in- 
tensely heated, but probably retains a great portion 
of the heat during the night. 

" Horticulturists will decide which of these two 
causes is efficient in producing the effect I have 
stated, or whether both may not cooperate ; it is not 
for me to presume to do so, though I should be 
inclined to think, that in this climate, the intensity 
had more influence than the uniformity." 

Chas. Harrison, gardener at Wortley Hall, York- 
shire, gives the following directions for blackening 
walls : 

" When the leaves have fallen in the autumn, I take 
the earliest opportunity to loosen the tree from the 
wall and to prime them ; the wall is then colored 
with coal-tar, mixing with every gallon of the tar one 
pint of linseed oil, in order to prevent it having a 
shining surface when dry. It is more necessary to 



lGJr OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

make this addition in the hotter parts of the kingdom 
than it is here, but even here it is essential in hot 
summers, for when the sun shines strongly on the 
wall with a shining black surface it has appeared to 
me to scorch those shoots which touch the wall ; but 
this does not happen when the color is rendered 
opaque by the mixture of the oil as recommended. 
If the wall has not been previously colored, I give it 
a second coat as soon as the first is dry. In laying 
on the color care is taken that the liquid is not 
sprinkled upon the trees, for it would close up the 
pores of the wood and consequently do injury. 

" After the wall is colored I allow the trees to 
remain loose from the wall until the coal tar has set 
(unless strong winds prevail, in which case I secure 
the main limbs and branches to the wall), in order 
that the shoots may not be damaged by coming in 
contact with it before it is dry. "When the wall has 
become moderately dry, I nail the trees to it. A 
wall of sound bricks will not require recoloring 
more than once in ten years. Coal tar being very 
cheap, a wall of considerable extent may be colored 
for a trifling sum. Any dark-colored paint will 
answer the same purpose, but it is far more expen- 
sive, and requires renewal more frequently. 

" The dark color, absorbing the rays of the sun, the 
wall acquires at least ten degrees of heat more than 



WALLS AND TRELLISES. 1G5 

the walls not colored, as directed ; thus affording 
great assistance in maturing the buds upon fruit-bear- 
ing shoots, so that the trees may be productive. In 
cold and wet seasons, without such aid, I should not. 
have been able to obtain ripe buds upon fruit-trees 
under my care. This I have had ample proof of by 
the nnfruitf ulness of those trees which are against 
walls not colored, at the same time that trees against 
colored walls were abundantly fruitful. The wall 
being colored is also a preventive of insects harboring 
in it and also tends to keep it dry. 

" The growth of young trees is much promoted by 
the coloring and they are sooner brought to a supply 
of fruitful buds." 

In all cases in which vines are trained in front of 
walls or fences, it is important that a space of from 
six to twelve inches be left between the wall and the 
trellis to which they are fastened. If trained directly 
to the wall, the vine will not only be subject to mil- 
dew, but ventilation will be materially interrupted. 
The bunches also, are liable to injury when lying 
against the surface of the wall. 

Walls may, of course, be constructed of any mate- 
rial, brick, stone or concrete. Brick is probably the 
most suitable material, though, as plain walls can be 
rapidly and cheaply built of concrete, it is piobable 
that it might pay to erect them on an extensive scale 



163 OPEN AIR GBAPE CULTURE. 

in some parts of the country. In the celebrated 
Thomery vineyards, the walls are built of clay with 
a cap of thatch. It is probable that walls built of 
well made sun-burnt bricks would last a long time 
and answer a good purpose if properly protected by a 
cap or eave of board or straw. 

But, for all practical purposes, our reliance for vine- 
yard training, in the present state of our experience, 
must be upon properly arranged trellises. We will, 
therefore, give what we consider the best mode of con- 
structing them. 

If the vines have been planted two years previously 
at distances of eight feet in the rows and the rows six 
feet apart, the first step to the erection of the trellises 
is to set up a post between each vine and slightly in 
advance of the rows, so as to facilitate bending the 
vines for winter protection.* These posts may be of 
such size and material as the vine dresser may pro- 
cure. Cedar, chestnut, locust or oak make the best, 
and a good size is four inches deep (across the rows) 
and three inches thick. They should stand from seven 
to nine feet out of the ground and be sunk not less 
than two and a half feet — if three feet, all the better. 
The two posts at the ends of the rows must be placed 
so that they cannot be drawn inward. Various de- 
vices for effecting this are shown in Figs. 30 and 40. 

* See page 107. 



WAT.T.R AND TEELLISES. 



167 



One consisting simply of a piece of plank nailed 
across the post so as to afford a broad surface to lie 
against the earth. The other is secured by a brace, 





Fig. 89. 



Fig. 40. 



which rests against a large stone sunk below the sur- 
face. 

The posts having been set in a straight line and 
reduced to a proper height, the next step will be to 
nail two strips of wood, one along the top and the 
other at from 9 to 14 inches from the ground, or just 
at sncn a height that the head of the vine-stems 



168 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

(from which the horizontal arms spring) may reach 
its upper edge when laid against it. If the trellis i3 
over seven and a half feet high, it will be well to nail 
a third slat, equidistant between the two, though it 
is not absolutely necessary. The next step is to 
divide the spaces between the slats into equal parts 
of about 15 inches each. Thus if the trellis be seven 
and a half feet high, and two slats (the lower one ten 
inches from the ground) we would divide into five 
spaces of 16 inches each. If nine feet high with three 
slats (the lower one twelve inches from the ground) 
we would divide each of the two spaces into three 
divisions of 16 inches each. Then take No. 12-16 
annealed iron wire, twist a good loop on the end, and 
having slipped it over a stout nail driven into the end 
post, draw the wire along the posts, attaching it to 
each with a small staple well driven in until the last 
is reached, when the wire may be twisted round a 
nail or pin and the loose end secured by a staple. 

Various devices have been proposed for drawing 
the wire tight and adjusting it for contraction and 
elongation according to the temperature, as is done in 
the construction of fences. But we are satisfied that 
there is no necessity for this, as the wire can be 
drawn over a stretch of eight feet tight enough for all 
practical purposes, while it will always be loose 
enough to allow of any contraction that can take 



WALLS AND TJSELLISES. 



169 



place. The truth is, that the wires do not require to 
be so very tight ; even if they do have a little motion 
from the wind, it is not productive of any injury. 

Our method of putting up the wire is as follows : 
We first provide a pair of strong wooden pincers 
such as those shown in Fig. 41, the handles of which 
are at least 30 inches long, and having a piece of stout 
sole leather tacked over the jaws. 




Fig. 41. 



Then having secured one end of the vine to the first 
post and uncoiled the roll, laying it on the ground, 



170 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

in front of the posts to which it is to be fastened we 
grasp it between the leather jaws of the pincers and 
step slowly back, straining it as much as possible un- 
til we are past the second post, when an assistant 
fastens it firmly with a small staple and we are again 
ready to step back to the next. By means of this 
contrivance, the wire can be laid on as tightly and 
smoothly as possible, for all the kinks are taken ont 
by passing it through the leather jaws of the pin- 
cers, which should be well greased. It is necessary 
to go into the field provided with several sets of 
leathers, as they soon wear out, but are easily re- 
newed. They should be at least three inches broad, 
so as to straighten out the wire thoroughly. 

That wire is better than wooden slats there can be 
no doubt. It is less in the way, the vines cling to it 
more readily and the appearance is vastly superior. 
A pound of No. 12 wire will stretch across three 
posts (24 ft.) so that a trellis 8 feet high with two 
wooden slats and five wires, each 14 inches apart, will 
require lflbs., which, at eight cents per lb., will cost 
about 13 or 1-1 cents. As the cost of the wire is con- 
siderable, some cultivators do with less. Dr. Under- 
bill's trellises are seven feet high with only three wires, 
and we believe no slats. But we prefer the arrange- 
ment just described, as we can thus tie in each shoot 
conveniently and regularly, and the wires at 14 inches 



WALLS AND TRELLISES. 



171 



are none too close to have a bearing shoot on each. 
When wire cannot be conveniently had, the follow- 
ing is a good mode of putting up a rough trellis. 

Set the posts as usual, and provide a number of 
slender split poles (hoop poles) and also a sufficient 
number of wire staples made of strong wire (No. 6 
or 8 hard). Then secure the poles or slats to the 
posts by means of the staples, the ends of the poles 
being made to lap over each other so that two may 
be fastened by one staple. The accompanying figure 
(12) will explain this better than words can describe. 




Pig. 42. 



If the staples are a little less than the poles, the latter 
w T ill be held very firmly. Nails will not answer, ae 
they are apt to split the poles, and we are inclined k 
think that, for ordinary slats, staples would be bette,- 
than nails on this very account. If made square and 
light, they need not be unsightly, and the cost is not 
very great. 

Eo directions need be given for the construction of 



172 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



arbors, or those ornamental trellises usually erected 
in gardens, as their form and arrangement will vary 
with the taste of the possessor. 

A very neat, simple and efficient support for a single 
vine trained on the spur system is shown in Fig. 43. 




Fig. 43. 



It might be constructed so as to be removable when 
the vine is laid down for the winter. It has even 
been proposed to have a hinge at the foot of the trel- 



WALLS AND TRELLISES. 173 

lis and lay down trellis and all. But tins would be 
very injudicious. 

Stakes are frequently used in vineyards, and also 
in gardens, but do not present any feature which is 
not more immediately connected with the subject of 
training, than with that of the present chapter. 

The materials of which trellises, etc., should be 
made, will as often be governed by local circum- 
stances as by any other consideration. As before stated, 
cedar, chestnut, locust and oak, are to be preferred 
for posts, and any tough, light and straight-grained 
wood for slats. The posts may be charred, where 
they enter the earth, though we should prefer to soak 
them for an hour or so in boiling coal tar. This may 
be readily done in a large pot, or caldron, set up in 
the field over a temporary furnace. It will of course 
be wise to give the whole structure a couple of good 
coats of paint, especially the wire. 

The height to which trellises may be carried, 
depends upon two circumstances — the extent of their 
shadow and the influence of high training upon the 
vines. The latter point has been sufficiently dis- 
cussed, under the head of pruning and training, and 
we find that at a distance of six feet no ordinary trellis 
will, in latitudes suited to the culture of the graj)e, 
shade its neighbor during the growing season. At 
other times, shade is not at all injurious. We had 



174 OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTUEE. 

prepared extensive tables, giving the distance to 
which shadows will be thrown by trellises of various 
heights, at different seasons of the year, and in dif- 
ferent latitudes ; but omit them for the above rea- 
sons. 

The only limit which we would set to the height of 
a trellis, would be our ability to prune the vines and 
gather the fruit, with the aid of a light stool. Lad- 
ders are too unwieldy and involve too much labor, 
except for a few vines. 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 175 



CHAPTEK X. 

PROPAGATION OF THE TINE. 

Young vine plants may be raised from seeds, eyes, 
or cuttings, or by layering or grafting, all which 
modes are in common practice, though some are only 
adapted to peculiar circumstances and objects. We 
shall give a few practical directions for each. 

Layering. — This is the mode in which large, thrifty 
vines may be most rapidly obtained ; but it is by no 
means adapted to general use, where large quantities 
are required. 

To procure a young vine by layering, we take a 
cane of the preceding year, having a well advanced 
shoot ; and about the middle of June, or first of 
July, cut it half through, as shown in Fig. 45. It is 
then bent down and pegged into a hole, about three 
or four inches deep. It should be well watered, and 
the application of a little mulch, consisting of long 
litter, new-mown grass, weeds, or any similar matter, 
will prove of much service. Roots will soon push, 
and at the proper time for transplanting, it will have 
formed a fi?ie healthy plant. Larger and stronger 



176 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



vines, which will in some cases bear the succeeding 
season, may be obtained by layering older and stronger 
shoots ; but the most healthy and, we believe, the 
most vigorous, plants will be produced by follow- 
ing the directions just given. 

Instead of one plant, several may be obtained from 




Fig. 44. 

the same layer, if it be simply buried its whole length, 
as in Fig. 44. Roots will start from each joint, and 
consequently each joint will form a plant. But where a 
single plant is wanted, the method shown in Fig. 45 
w T ill give the finest results. 

If very fine plants are wanted, in a short time, the 
best method is to sink a six-inch (or larger) pot in 
the ground and layer the shoot in it. This is best 
done by first making a hole in the ground, sufficiently 
Wge to receive the pot; then by running the loop 



PROPAGATION of the vine. 



177 



end of a doubled cord through the hole in the bot- 
tom of the pot, and passing a stick through the loop 




Fig. 45. 

or double, it will be easy to tie the shoot in any 
desired position. The whole process will be readily 
understood from an inspection of Fig. 46 ; and we 
much prefer this plan to pegging down the shoot, 
or laving on bricks or weights, as pegs are rather 
uncertain when used in pots, and bricks take up too 
much room to the prejudice of the roots. 



178 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

The young plant should be detached from the 
parent vine in about five or six weeks after layering, 
and may then be set out in its proper location. As 
this will be about the latter part of July, or the first 
of September, the vine will have plenty of time to 
become well established, and make good roots before 
winter sets in ; and it will form a strong plant, capa- 
ble of throwing up two permanent canes or producing 
a specimen bunch of fruit, during the succeeding sea- 
son — provided, of course, that the variety propagated 
is of a vigorous and prolific character. An Isabella 
vine, layered in this manner in an eight-inch pot, 
threw up, next season, two canes, one twelve and the 
other sixteen feet. Another, treated in the same 
way , bore sixteen bunches of fine fruit. 

In several instances, we have used common four-inch 
semi-tubular tile, instead of flowerpots, and with excel- 
lent results. They have the advantage of cheapness ; 
but, in other respects, the flower-pot is to be preferred. 
In some cases, the shoot is drawn through the hole in 
the bottom of the pot ; but although we have tried 
this in one or two instances, we have not found it 
either convenient or satisfactory. 

A bearing shoot, layered in a good sized pot, or in 
a common water-pail, may be made to produce a 
well- rooted plant, which will perfectly ripen several 
bunches of fruit the same season, even after being 



rEOrAGATION OF THE VINE. 



179 



removed from the parent plant. This forms a very 
elegant and ornamental object ; but, except as a matter 
of curiosity, such a process is worthless. In rare 
instances, perhaps, specimen bunches might be grown 




Fi<?. 46. 



cut of doors, and perfected in the house, thus avoid- 
ing numerous evils to which the finer varieties of the 
vine are subject in this climate, In all cases, it is 
essential that the layer be kept moist and warm. As 



180 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

the earth does not seem to be warm enough to induce 
the formation of roots, before June, it has occurred to 
us that very early and strong plants might be pro- 
duced by inserting the pot (Fig. 46) in a slight hot- 
bed. A few barrow loads of manure would answer 
every purpose ; and by producing roots thus early, 
strong specimen plants might be procured more 
easily than by any other method. 

It may be well here to state that wood of any age 
from the oldest gnarled stems to the succulent growth 
of the current year will root if properly treated. 
We have always found, however, that the best and 
healthiest roots always spring from the junction of 
the old wood with the current vear's growth. 

It is recommended upon good authority (with 
which we in general coincide) to separate the plants 
from the old vine at least by the end of September, 
unless previously removed. In the case of some 
varieties, however (Diana, e. g.) this will not always 
answer, as roots are produced with such difficulty that 
two years are often required to make good plants 

Cuttings. — Where large quantities of young plants 
of the common varieties are required, this is one of 
the cheapest and easiest methods of procuring them. 
Where wood is plenty, each cutting may consist of 
several buds or joints, as in Fig. 47. In ordinary cases, 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 181 

however, a length of three buds is sufficient, and we 
have grown very good plants from cuttings of only 
one joint in length — that is, having two buds. Indeed, 
the latter make by far the nicest and cleanest plants, 
and though not quite so strong at first as those from 
a greater number of eyes, yet we question if in the 
long run they would not prove quite their equals. 




Fig. 47. Fig. 48. 

Cuttings to be good should be of thrifty, well 
ripened, close jointed wood — long reedy canes and 
spindling twigs being alike to be avoided. The best 
cuttings are those which have the base of the shoot 
attached, and this may be either as in Fig. 47, where 
the cutting has been cut away close to the old wood ; 
or it may be a mallet cutting, as it is called, where a 
small section of the two-year-old wood is left, as in 
Fig. 48. 

The proper time for procuring cuttings is at the 



182 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

regular fall or spring pruning. The cuttings may then 
be preserved in a cool cellar, either buried in mode- 
rately dry sand or simply laid on the floor and covered 
with straw or leaves. Excessive dryness or damp- 
ness are equally to be avoided, and the temperature 
should be low though never sufficient to freeze the 
fluids in the cutting. In this state they should be kept 
until the middle or end of April, as nothing is gained 
by setting them out at an earlier period. Indeed, 
we have found those which had been well preserved 
during the winter and set out in May do quite as 
well if not better than any others. In some experi- 
ments we used the previous year's wood, cut from the 
vines when the young shoots had grown two inches, 
and yet- in this case they grew finely and made strong 
plants. But of course this is not an example to be 
imitated except where it is desired to procure scions 
of some particular variety, and the opportunity for so 
doing occurs only at the period indicated. Such cut- 
tings should be set out as soon after being cut off as 
possible, and if the weather be dry and warm, shad- 
ing, watching and watering will all be necessary. 

In planting cuttings it is best to choose a plot of 
rather sandy soil (heavy soil will not do) ; trench it 
deeply, mixing it with manure thoroughly rotten and 
converted into a Mack mold. (Any decomposition 
going on in the soil will ruin the cuttings.) Then 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 



1S3 



plant the cuttings in rows twelve to eighteen niches 
apart and six to eight inches apart in the rows. They 
may be planted either in holes made by a dibble or 
laid in trenches made by the spade-the earth from 
the next trench being nsecl to fill up the trench m 
which the cuttings are placed. Some authors direct 
lis to place them perpendicularly, but we have always 
obtained the best results when they were placed as 
shown in Fig 49. In placing them, always be careful 




Fig. 49. 



to have the end bud which is out of the soil upper- 
most, and be careful that the end be cut with a slant, 
the same as that in the figure, so that it will not throw 
the rain on to the bud as in that case it may cause it 
to rot. In long cuttings the upper bud should be 
left about three inches above the surface of the soil, 
so that it may not be covered by the coat of mulch, 
which it is well to apply. Short cuttings must be 
inserted more deeply, but in all cases the bud should 
be uncovered unless in very late planting. We are 
aware that many advise the bud to be covered, but 
our own experience has been uniformly against it- 



184 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



Neither should several buds be left above the sur- 
face, as they can do no good and require constant 
watching, as it is important for reasons to be here- 
after detailed that only one shoot should be allowed 
to grow. With cuttings of four or more buds, a very 
good rule is to place the second bud even with the 
surface of the ground. In this case the cutting should 
be turned one-fourth round from its position in 
Fig. 49 so that the two upper buds may lie one on 
each side. 

Another mode of planting cuttings is to make a 
hole with a dibble, and after inserting the cutting 
about two-thirds its length, bend it over and peg it 
down, as shown in Fig. 50. 




Fig. 50. 



fWf 




Fig. 51. 



Fig 51 shows a method of inserting cuttings which 
we have practised with success. As it is well known 
that a cutting will grow, no matter which end is stuck 
in the ground, a scion is taken containing at least 
three buds, and after bending it into a semicircular 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 185 

form, both ends are inserted in the ground, leaving 
the middle bud above the surface. As soon as this 
bud begins to grow, it will be supplied with nutri- 
ment from both ends and will make rapid progress. 
The plants produced by this method are very strong 
and if designed to remain where they are first set 
out they give very certain and satisfactory results. 
But they do not transplant well. 

The following plan described in Miller's "Gar- 
deners Dictionary" is one which we have tried with 
success : " Having an Iron bar of an Inch or more 
in Diameter, a little pointed at the End, they there- 
with make a Hole directly down about three Feet 
and a Half deep ; then, being- provided with an Instru- 
ment they call a Crucciala, having a Handle of 
Wood like that of a large Anger and the Body of 
Iron four Feet long and more than half an Inch in 
1 Diameter, at the End of which there is a Nich some- 
thing like a half moon, they after twisting the End 
of the Cutting, put it therein, and force it down the 
Bottom of the Hole, where they then leave it, and 
afterward fill up the Yacancy with fine sifted Earth 
or Sand ; observing to tread the Earth close to the 
Plants, which otherwise (unless # it be stiff Land) u 
often inclinable to be Loose and Dry, especially if 
Rain does not soon follow their Planting ; and it is 
incredible how many Vines three Persons can in 



186 OPEN AIE GRAPE CULTURE. 

this Manner plant in one Day, viz., upward of two 
thousand." 

In our own practice we simply make a deep hole, 
insert the cutting, fill up with dry sand and give a 
liberal supply of water. By inserting the cutting as 
deeply as here advised it is placed beyond reach of 
drought, though the lower portion rarely throws out 
roots unless the soil be very favorable. 

Eyes. — "Where the aid of a hot bed or propagating 
house can be obtained, eyes afford an easy and rapid 
mode of multiplying vines. They are usually cut 
about two inches long, containing only one bud, and 
are started in February or March in pots or boxes 
filled with a mixture of sand, leaf-mold, and soil. 
The buds are either buried half an inch deep or 
placed even with the surface of the earth, according 




Fig. 52. Fig. 53. 

to the ideas of the operator, and generally form strong 
plants, which may be set out in the open ground in 
June or July. Figs. 52 and 53 illustrate the position 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 



1ST 



of the cutting in relation to the soil. This method 
of propagating requires skill and great care and is 
seldom employed except by professional men. 

Grafting is seldom employed in the case of those 
common varieties which are easily raised from cut- 
tings or eyes. Diana and Delaware are, however, 
sometimes raised by this method, and to the amateur 
it is one of the most important processes, as by this 
means a new and rare variety can be fruited some 
years before a young plant would come into bearing. 
Loudon gives the following directions for performing 
the operation : 

"Cleft grafting the vine is shown in Fig. 54, in 
which a is a bud on the scion, and Z>, on the stock, 




Fig. 54. 



both in the most favorable position for success. The 
graft is tied and clayed in the usual manner, except- 
ing that only a small hole is left in the clay opposite 



188 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

the eye of the scion, for its development. In graft- 
ing the vine in this manner when the hud (b) on 
the stock is developed, it is allowed to grow for ten 
or fourteen days, after which it is cut off, leaving 
only one hud and one leaf near its "base to draw up 
sap to the scion till it be fairly united to the stock. 
The time of grafting is when the stock is about to 
break into leaf, or when it has made shoots with four 
or five leaves. By this time the sap has begun to flow 
freely, so that there is no danger of the stock suffer- 
ing from bleeding; though, if vines are in good 
health and the wood thoroughly ripened, all the 
bleeding that takes place does little injury." 

Root-grafting the vine is also frequently practised. 
For this purpose, saddle-grafting is most suitable, the 
scion being properly secured to the stock with waxed 
cloth 6r paper. 

Lindley, in the " Gardener's Chronicle," states that 
the great secret of success in grafting the vine is to 
keep the scion dormant until the stock has so far 
developed its leaves and shoots as to be beyond the 
reach of danger from bleeding. His directions are 
as follows : 

" Shorten the branch or shoot at the winter prun- 
ing, to the most eligible place for inserting the graft. 
The graft should be kept in sufficiently moist soil till 
the time of performing the operation, and for a week 



PIJOPAGATTON OF THE VINE. 189 

previous in the same temperature as that in which 
the vines to be operated upon are growing. When 
such portions of the latter as are shortened for receiv- 
ing the grafts have made a bit of shoot, graft as you 
would other fruit-trees, taking care, however, to pre- 
serve the shoot at the top in claying, and till the buds 
on the scions have pushed, then shorten it back. 
Inarching may be performed at any time after the 
vines have started, sp far as not to bleed." 

Speedily, however, names the middle of March as 
the best time for grafting the vine in the open air ; 
and his directions are so lucid that we offer no apo- 
logy for quoting them : 

" In general, vines should be grafted about three 
weeks before they begin to break into bud. 

"Upon small stocks, not more than one inch in 
diameter, cleft grafting will be found the most pro- 
per ; but upon larger stocks, whip grafting is to be 
preferred. 

" In both methods, much care should be taken in 
fitting the scion and stock together, and the operation 
should be performed with great exactness. 

"When the stock and scion are well fitted 
the graft should be fastened with the strands of bass 
matting, and should then be covered with clay in the 
usual way. 

" Vines do not harmonize with so much freedom as 



lyO OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. 

commoner fruit ; for though the scion will sometimes 
begin to push in a few weeks, yet it will frequently 
remain in a dormant state for two or three months ; 
and during this period it will be necessary to strip the 
stock of all the shoots it may produce, as soon as 
they appear ; and, in order to preserve the scion in a 
vegetative state, it will be necessary to keep the clay 
moderately moist, which may easily be effected by 
wrapping it round with moistened moss, and keeping 
the moss constantly sprinkled with water. 

" When the scion has made shoots five or six inches 
long, the clay and bandage should be carefully taken 
off; and the clay may be removed without injuring 
the graft, when it is in a moist state. 

" Vines will frequently prove successful by both the 
above-mentioned methods, but still the most eligible 
way of all, seems to me, to be that of grafting by 
approach. Indeed, I have seldom known any plants 
miscarry, that have been grafted in this way. JSTow 
in this case, it is necessary to have the plant, intended 
to be propagated, growing in a pot. Strong plants 
that have been two or three years in pots are to be 
preferred, but plants from the nursery may be potted 
and grafted in the same season, if brought into a hot- 
house or vinery ; for the great warmth of either will 
generally cause plants, brought out of the open air, 
to push with vigor, and to form new roots, which w'll 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 10 1 

support the plant, and greatly facilitate its forming a 
union with the stock. 

« I have constantly had fine grapes, and the grafts 
have made good wood, the first season, by every 
method of grafting, but particularly by the last. In 
which it is obvious that the graft has a double sup- 
port, viz. : from the stock, as well as from the plant in 

the pot. 

« In this method it will be necessary to let the clay 
and banda,ge remain two or three months after the 
graft has formed a union ; for if taken off at an 
earlier period, the grafted part of the plant will be 
very liable to spring from the stock. 

« The pot should be plentifully supplied with water 
till the month of August, when the graft should be 
separated from the plant in the pot. Two or three 
inches of wood below the bottom of the graft may be 
left, but should be taken clean off at the next winter's 

pruning." § 

Grafting is a common practice in the vineyards ot 
France. Chaptal's directions are as follows : 
' "Having selected a healthy stock, it is, just when 
the sap is beginning to flow, taken off with a clean 
cut an inch or two below the surface of the ground. 
The upper portion of the stock, which must be per- 
fectly free from knots, is split evenly down the centre 
and pared quite smooth within, of a sufficient size tor 



292 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



the reception of the scion. The latter is pruned to threo 
eyes in length, having the lower part cut in the form 
of a wedge, commencing ahout an inch beneath 
the lowest eye, and gradually tapering to the bottom. 
It is then inserted as far as the lowest bud into the 
cleft of the stock : the second bud is level with the 
Eurface of the ground, which is drawn close around 
Lt, and the uppermost is quite above the soil. Great 



Fig. 55. 



care is necessary in adjusting the scion, that its bark 
may touch that of the stock in every possible point. 
" The whole is then bound round with a pliable osier 



rilOPAGATION OF THE VISE. 193 

which retains the scion in its proper place. The 
best season for grafting the vine is just when the 
warmth of spring sets the sap in motion, and it should 
be performed when the sky is cloudy, with the wind 
blowing from the southeast or southwest. Whenever 
a northerly wind or great drought prevails, it is 
better to delay the operation ; a burning sun or cold 
wind would arrest the course of the sap by drying up 
the vessels at the point of union. Neither is it 
advisable to graft in rainy weather, because the 
water will trickle down into the incision, and pre- 
vent the union between the scion and stock. The 
best time for taking off the grafts is in a dry day 
toward the end of autumn, when the sap is still. 
They should be cut off with a portion of the old wood 
adhering, which will assist in preserving them until 
wanted for use. They should be plunged two or 
three inches deep in damp sand, and kept in a cool 
cellar, where neither heat nor frost can penetrate. 
Twenty-four hours previously to being used, they 
should be taken up, and that part which had before 
been in the sand should be laid in water." 

He, moreover, states that " the vine is thus grafted 
with so much facility, and the union between scion 
and stock is so perfect, that no plant appears more 
adapted for this mode of propagation." 

"W e have never met with an example of budding 



19i OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

as practised on the grapevine. The following process, 
which is described as budding in the " Gardener^ 
Chronicle " for 1844, is in reality a species of grafting : 
' ' Bud about the first week in March, or as soon as 
the sap begins to rise. Cut an eye about three inches 
in length, having attached as much wood as you can 
get with it ; at each end of the eye cut off about a 
quarter of an inch of the upper bark, making the 
ends quite thin. Next measure off the exact length 
of the bud on the bark of the vine intended to be 
budded, and make a niche slanting upward at the 
upper part ; and another slanting downward at the 
bottom. Then take the piece neatly out, so that the 
bud may fit nicely in, and by making the niche, as 
stated above, each end of the bud is covered by the 
bark of the shoot. Bind the bud firmly round with 
matting, and clay it, taking care, however, that the 
clay does not cover the eye of the bud. Then tie it 
round with moss, and keep it constantly damp, and 
as the sap rises in the vine the bud begins to swell. 
When the vine commences to push out young shoots, 
take the top ones off, in order to throw a little more 
sap into the bud, and as you jDerceive it getting 
stronger take off* more young shoots, and so continue 
until you have taken off all the young shoots. Bud- 
ding can only be performed where the long-rod system 
is practised, as in that case you have the power of con- 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 195 

fining the sap to the bud,' which will grow vigorously. 
As soon as yon perceive this, cut the vine clown to 
the bud. Budding has the advantage over graft- 
ing of not leaving an unsightly appearance where the 
bud was inserted. A bud likewise grows more luxu- 
riantly. Allow the matting to remain until about 
the month of September." 

Mr. Knight was accustomed on some occasions to 
employ two distinct ligatures to hold the bud of his 
peach-trees in its place. One was placed above 
the bud inserted, and upon the transverse section 
through the bark ; the other, which had no further 
office than that of securing the bud, was employed 
in the usual way. As soon as the bud had attached 
itself, the ligature last applied was taken off; but the 
other was suffered to remain. The passage of the 
sap upward was in consequence much obstructed, 
and buds inserted in June began to vegetate strongly 
in July : when these had afforded shoots about four 
inches long the remaining ligature was taken off to 
permit the excess of sap to pass on ; and the young 
shoots were nailed to the wall. Being there properly 
exposed to light, their wood ripened well, and afford- 
ed blossoms in the succeeding spring. 

Might not the principles here indicated be applied 
with advantage to the foregoing method of budding 
(grafting ?) the vine ? 



196 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE, 



A method which partakes partly of grafting and 
partly of inarching is shown in the annexed figure. 
Fig 56. Here the graft is covered with soil which 




Fig. 56. 



supports it in the same manner as a cutting, while at 
the same time it receives nutriment from the stock. 



Seed Hybridization. — Young vines are never raised 
from seed, except for the production of new varieties ; 
but, as this subject is deservedly attracting very 
general attention at present, a few practical hints 
thereon may prove acceptable. 

Ever since Bacon observed that u The compound- 
ing and mixture of plants is not found out, which, 
nevertheless, if it be possible, is more at command 
than that of living creatures, wherefore it were one 



PKOrAGxVTION OF THE VINE. 197 

of the most noble experiments touching plants to 
find this out; for so you may have a great variety of 
plants and flowers yet unknown. Grafting cloth it 
not; that mencleth the fruit, or doubleth the flower, 
but it hath not the power to make a new kind," it 
has been the constant endeavor of good gardeners to 
improve the qualities of domestic plants by judicious 
mixtures of varieties. 

Bradley, we believe, was the first who undertook 
to produce hybrid plants ; but since his day, it has 
been attempted by almost every celebrated horticul- 
turist. 

The limits of hybridization amongst plants have 
never been thoroughly ascertained, although it is a 
subject of deep importance. For in the animal king- 
dom we know that while cross breeding (or intermix- 
ture of varieties) has been productive of the best 
results, hybridization, or muling has been successful 
in but very few instances, at least so far as practical 
p-ood is concerned. Now whether the different spe- 
cies of the vine, as vitis vmifera, vitis labrusca, vitis 
cordifolia, etc. are so far removed from each other 
as to produce mules by their intermixture, or whe- 
ther they are varieties and will freely cross-breed, has 
not yet been fully determined. 

To examine this subject, however, with sufficient 
fullness to be useful would far exceed our limits. 



19S OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

Neither can we enter upon a discussion of the 
claims of the rival theory of Yan Mons. We shall 
therefore rest content with a few practical directions. 

Speedily, who was' probably the first to attempt 
the improvement of vines by cross-breeding, directs 
us to bring the flowering branches of the two kinds 
of vines into close proximity — they being, of course, 
in the same stage of maturity. 

No very superior varieties followed his attempts, 
however ; and this is not to be wondered at, as it is 
probable that branches might be entwined a thou- 
sand times without effecting the result aimed at; 
for no means are taken to bring the pollen of the dif- 
ferent ilowers into contact with the stigma of the 
others, and although we have no reasons to doubt the 
possibility of super-fcetation, (seeing it is well-known 
to occur in the higher animals) yet no means are 
here taken to produce even this. 

J. Fiske Allen, one of our most successful grape 
growers and the originator of some new and excel- 
lent varieties, gives the following directions upon this 
point. 

" The applying the pollen, or farina of one variety 
to the pistil, or stigma of another, is the surer method 
of proceeding to obtain new sorts in the shortest 
time ; and this is called hybridizing. 

To do this properly, the bunch should be thinned 



PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 100 

of three-quarters of the buds ; the lower part should 
be cut away entirely (immediately before inflores- 
cence), the strongest buds always being left. 

Observe them closely, and as soon as the flowers 
open, with sharp scissors clip the anthers, being care- 
ful not to injure the pistil; with a soft brush, apply 
the pollen from the kind to be used in impregnation ; 
or the whole bunch which is to furnish the pollen may 
be cut from the vine and gently rubbed or applied to 
the bunch, by frequently striking them together on 
every side. This should be repeated several clays, 
until it is evident that the fruit is all impregnated ; 
a fresh bunch with the pollen in a suitable condition, 
must be had at each operation. 

" The pollen must be dry and in a falling condition, 
to be fit for the purpose. If your vines are so 
situated that a branch to be acted upon can be 
brought into contact with the branch of another kind, 
and the bunches interlaced, this will be a good 
method of proceeding — cutting away the males part 
of the blossom from the kind that is to ripen the seed 
for the new kinds." 





Fig. 57. Fig. 58. Fig. 59. 

•' Fig. 57 is a magnified representation of the bud 



200 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

of the grape. Figs. 58 and 59 show the blossom. 
The change from the bud to the blossom is usually 
rapid, and takes place about thirty to forty days after 
the shoot appears in the spring which bears the fruit. 
This bud, which forms the blossom, consists of a 
covering, or cap, and the embryo berry with five 
anthers, which, when the time for inflorescence has 
come, is raised, or lifted, by the anthers, and the 
wind blows this cap free. 

" The third is the blossom or embryo grape, with 
the anthers clipped and deprived of their farina ; on 
the top of the embryo is the pistil ; upon this is to be 
placed the farina, or pollen of the male plant ; when 
this is done, impregnation takes place, and the em- 
bryo rapidly swells off. If the operation has not 
been effectual, the berry will remain as it is. When 
the grape has attained one-third or one-half its size, 
it remains stationary two or three weeks, and at this, 
time it is perfecting the seed. "When this is done, 
the fruit begins growing again ; thus it appears the 
seed will vegetate, even if the fruit does not ripen 
sufficiently to be eatable." 

Loudon's directions for saving and sowing seed are 
as follows : " Grapes for seed should be permitted to 
remain on the plant till the fruit is perfectly mature, 
and the seeds are of a very dark brown color. They 
should be separated from the pulp, and preserved till 



PROPAGATION" OF THE VINE. 201 

February or the beginning of March. Thej &hv)uld 
then be sown in pots filled with light fresh m >ld, and 
plunged in a moderately warm hot-bed; tli^y will 
come up in from four to six weeks, and when the 
plants are about six inches high, they should be 
transplanted singly, into forty-eights, ami afterward 
into pots of a larger size. Water gently, as circum- 
stances require, allow abundance of light and air, 
and carefully avoid injuring any of the leaves. Cut 
down the plants every autumn to two good buds, and 
suffer only one of these to extend itself in the fol- 
lowing spring. Shift into larger pots as occasion 
requires, till they have produced fruit. This, under 
good management, will take place in the fourth or 
fifth year, when the approved sorts should be 
selected, and the rest destroyed, or used as stocks on 
which to graft or inarch good sorts." 



202 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER XI. 

MANURE. » 

Manure* may be denned to be anything added to 
the soil to increase its fertility, whether by mechani- 
cal or chemical action. Substances serving the first 
purpose have been alluded to under the head of soils. 
The latter will now occupy our attention. 

In a former chapter sufficient practical directions 
were given for the preparatory enrichment of the soil 
and for the annual top-dressing of the borders ; it will 
now be our object to consider in detail the character 
of the nutriment required by the vine ; the sources 
whence it may be derived ; the various modes of its 
application ; and its effects upon the plant. 

It is a well-established fact, that unless the soil in 
which any plant is placed contains all the elements 
necessary to the formation of such plant, no healthy 
growth can ensue. Hence our first step must be to 
inquire into the chemical constitution of the grape- 
vine, or at least of its ashes, those elements which 

* Query. — To what extent was Jethro Tull's idea of horse-hoeing', 
as a substitute for manure, anticipated by those who first used the 
word manure (manwuvrcr — to work with the hand), before it was em- 
ployed to express the addition of matter to the soil, with a view to 
increase its fertility? One old English author speaks of the Com- 
monwealth of England as being " gouerned, administered, and 
manured by three sorts of person?/' ?tc. 



MANURE. 



203 



are dissipated during combustion being abundantly 
supplied from the atmosphere. 

The following are a few of the most reliable analy- 
ses which have been published : 

Dr. Emmons found the wood of Vitis Labrusca 
(Isabella ?) to contain : Water, 40.26 ; dry matter, 
59.74; ash, .98. 

Full-sized leaves .of Catawba, picked June 2d : 
"Water, 72.388; dry matter, 27.612; ash, 2.138. 
Per centage of ash calculated on dry matter, 7.746. 

Leaves of Catawba grape picked June 2d. An- 
alysis of ash : 



Carbonic acid 3.050 

Silicic acid 29.650 

Sulphuric acid 2.062 

Phosphates 32.950 

Lime 4.391 

Magnesia 1.740 



Potassa 13.394 

Soda 9. 698 

Chlorine. 0.741 

Organic acid 2.250 



96.926 



An analysis of wood and bark of wild vine gave 

Wood. Bark. 



Potassa 
Soda . . 



Chlorine 

Sulphuric acid 

Phosphate of lime 

Phosphate of peroxide of iron. 

Carbonic acid , 

Lime , 



Magnesia 

Silex 

Soluble silica , 

Coal and organic matter. 



20.84 
2.06 
0.02 
0.23 

15.40 
1.20 

5-1.83 

17.33 
4.40 
2.S0 
0.00 
2.20 



1.77 

9.27 

0.40 

trace 

5.04 

5.04 

32.22 

39.32 

0.80 

14.00 

30.00 

1.70 



100.21 100.86 

The following tabulated analyses by Crasso & 
Walz explain themselves : 



204 



OPEN ATK GRAPE CULTURE. 



Drollingen Vines, with 
leaves. 



Reisling Tines, with, 
leaves. 



Cleven Vines, with 
leaves. 



riCOHOi 



HCOtfSD 
WrtlOl- 



i-i CO 
©l-t 



;^t- t 



i-l <M i-^ i-< ' 



Small Burgundy Vines 
— Ash of Wood. 



Green Grapes — Ash of 
Seed. 



Blue Grapes — Ash of 
Seed. 



Green Grapes — Ash of 
Skin. 



Blue Grapes — Ash of 

Skin. 



lO 1C if i — * - 



iWOijIOOrl • O T-i t- 



• i~ CO O O CM 



i t|i CO ■ 



• "M X © © CM 



• I— o © 

• © <M lO 



IS)OO810CC -cOCOCS 



Ripe Green Grapes- 
Ash of Juice. 



Ripe Blue Grapes- 
Ash of Juice. 



Ripe Blue Grapes- 
Ash of Juice. 



Unripe Blue Grapes- 
Ash of Juice. 



sieiocciootj • o cm t- 



i-i rH CO CO © © CO 'Orii* 



lOOW^OOiO • th <M © 



CDOOCOOO 'lOOrllQ 



. e3 



r±< 



sS-rt 



ol if J. 



~- O ° ° °c„GG 

,ii .i5 CD CO cu o , 



0.2 






3 © a^ x. x ~ x 

«* K g "3 £> .e jS ,c -C -C a5 






fcKJ^SQBHO)S!OifiAfcfefl.OO 



MANURE. 205 

Sucli being the normal constituents of the vine 
and of its fruit, and the latter being, in almost all 
cases, removed from the soil in which it was pro- 
duced, it is obvious that a process of exhaustion must 
be constantly carried on, which, if not counteracted, 
must, in a short time, perceptibly reduce the crop. 

The means by which the matter thus removed 
from the soil is restored, are of three kinds : First, 
the action of the plants themselves, or of man upon 
the subsoil ; secondly, rain ; and thirdly, by the direct 
addition of the requisite elements, through the agency 
of man and animals. 

Although the soil has, to a certain extent, the 
power of separating salts and gases from the water 
which passes through it, the drainage water still re- 
tains a certain proportion of valuable matter,* and 
consequently the subsoil also becomes saturated to a 
greater or less extent with these same elements. 
Hence one of the effects of trenching is not only to 
bring up unexhausted soil to the surface, but to return 
those matters which had previously been washed out 
of the upper soil by the rains. The plants themselves 
occasionally bring up some of this matter, sending 

A series of valuable analyses and experiments upon this point ap- 
peared lately in the transactions of the Highland (Scottish) Agricul- 
tural Society, which the reader who desires to pursue this subject 
would do well to consult. 



206 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

clown roots deep into the snbsoil if it is open and 
porous. 

Rain is another important source not only of am- 
monia and gases, but of mineral matter. We quote the 
following from Lindlej's "Theory of Horticulture:" 

" The researches of chemists have shown that all rain 
water contains ammonia, a compound of hydrogen 
and nitrogen, and thus the source of the nitrogen 
absorbed by plants was explained. But it has also 
been shown, especially by M. Barral, that other sub- 
stances upon which plants feed are contained in rain 
water to a much greater amount than was suspected. 
This observer was led, during six months of 1851, te 
examine minutely the water collected in the rain 
gauges of the Observatory of Paris. His mode of 
investigation is declared by Messrs. Dumas, Bous- 
singault, Gasparin, Regnault, and Arago, names fore- 
most in French science, to be free from all objection, 
and to bear the most counter trials to which they 
could expose it. M. Barral states, that although the 
quantities of the following substances varied in dif- 
ferent months, yet the monthly average from July to 
December, inclusive, was as follows : 

"SUBSTANCES IN A CUBIC METRE OP RAIN "WATER. 

GRAMMES. GRAINS. 

Nitrogen, 8.36 = 129. 

Nitric Acid, 19.09 — 294. 



MANURE. 



2C7 



Ammonia, . 
Chlorine, . . 

Lime, . 
Magnesia, . 



GRAMMES. GRAINS. 

3.G1 = o5.7 

2.27 = 35. 

9.4S = 100. 

2.12 = 32.7 



" lie did not ascertain whether all these substances 
are contained in rain water collected at a distance 
from towns. But Dr. Bence Jones found at least 
nitric acid in rain water collected in London, at 
Kingston in Surrey, at Melbury in Dorsetshire, and 
far from any town at Clonakelty, in Ireland. If we 
assume that M. Barral's averages represent what 
occurs on an English acre, the quantity of such sub- 
stances deposited on that extent of ground may be 
safely estimated as follows : 

" The average depth of rain which falls in the neigh- 
borhood of London is well ascertained to be about 
twenty-four inches per annum. This is at the rate of 
87,120 cubic feet, or 2,466 cubic metres of rain water 
per acre ; and this, according to the proportions per 
cubic metre in the preceding table, would afford anu- 
ally of — 



Nitrogen, . 


. 


. 


45i- lbs 


Nitric acid, 


. 


• • « 


103 " 


Ammonia, . 


. 


• 


1H " 


Chlorine, . 


. 


• • 


121 « 


Lime, . 


. 


• 


i5 " 


Magnesia. . 


• 


• 


11 " 



Amount total per acre. 



227 " 



20S OPEN AIE GliAPE CULTURE. 

" Of these substances, the three first are of tha 
utmost importance, on account of their entering so 
largely into the indispensable constituents of the food 
by which vegetable life is sustained. The quantity 
of ammonia thus ascertained to exist, is about what U 
expected in two hundred weight of Peruvian guano ; 
and bountiful nature gives us, moreover, nearly one 
hundred and fifty pounds of nitrogenous matter 
equally suited to the nutrition of our crops." 

But although nature is thus liberal in supplying the 
necessary wants of her children, man desires returns 
rather more extensive than is merely necessary for 
the good of the plant. He therefore adds directly to 
the soil those matters which contain proper nutriment 
for the vine. In doing this, however, it is not neces 
sary to follow very accurately any recipe founded upon 
the analysis of the vine, provided we obtain sufficient 
of those elements which are most wanted. If we only 
spread a liberal table, the vine will select its own 
food. 

Of all applications to the soil, none deserve more 
confidence than well rotted barnyard manure ; from 
time immemorial it has been the staple reliance of 
the gardener and farmer and few are the instances in 
which its judicious application has been known to 
fail. 

That it may do good and not harm, however-, whex 



MANURE. 209 

mixed with the soil in which plants are growing, it is 
necessary it be thoroughly rotten. However much 
may have been written about the waste incurred by 
allowing manure to decompose, it is a well know fact 
that thoroughly decomposed manure is beneficial to 
most plants, while decomposing or fermenting ma- 
nure is frequently prejudicial. This probably arises 
from the fact that all bodies while undergoing decom- 
position exert a catalytic action on any organized 
matter in contact with them. Thus decomposing 
manure directly tends to produce rot in the roots or 
other parts of plants with which it comes in contact. 

The proper time for the application of manure to 
a vine border has been a subject of much discussion. 
Our plan is to apply it as a top-dressing in the fall 
and fork it in in the spring. It thus serves to keep the 
border warm and the soluble portions are washed 
down amongst the roots of the vine by the winter 
snow and rain, thus reaching it in a most effectual 
manner. To assist this process, the border should be 
loosened with a fork before the manure is laid on. 

Of all the substances entering into the composi- 
tion of a manure heap none have a better influence 
upon vines than bones. In the formation of a border 
they are of essential utility, affording for a long period 
a constant source of nutriment. The avidity with 
which the roots of the vine seek such a depot of food 



210 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

may be easily seen by placing a large porous bone 
amongst the roots of a vine. In a few months it will 
be literally covered with rootlets which have sought 
it out and find their nutriment in its recesses. 

Leather, hair, horns, hoofs, woollen rags and other 
animal offal possess a similar action to bones. They 
all possess the valuable property of lying undecom- 
posed in the soil for long periods, yet yield readily to 
the disintegrating action of plant roots. Hence, 
while they afford abundant and valuable nourish, 
ment to the vine, it is not surfeited by them as this 
nutriment must be wanted and sought before it will 
be given up. 

Ashes of wood, whether fresh or leached are a 
powerful manure for the vine, and probably contain 
all that it requires. Leached ashes may be ajDplied 
as a top dressing in almost any quantity with excel- 
lent effect, but a more cautious use must be made of 
fresh wood ashes, they being much more powerful 
and caustic. Coal ashes have hitherto been deemed 
utterly worthless, and are usually thrown into the 
street. To some soils, however, particularly those 
which are too heavy, they are a very useful addition, 
and as they are a powerful absorbent, there is no 
doubt that if mixed with night soil, or some similar 
matter, they would prove an excellent article — more 
lasting, and consequently better than night soil by 



MANURE. 211 

itself. They should never be thrown away, however, 
as they contain lime, iron and minute, though appre- 
ciable quantities of alkalies, soda usually predomi- 
nating. It is also quite possible that they contain 
minute traces of phosphates, though in no analysis 
with which I have met is it mentioned. "Where "the 
coal has been burned at a high temperature the 
alkali is in general reduced, and the metal volatilized. 

The dung and urine of animals forms a powerful 
manure. The solid excrements of all these are best 
mixed with some absorbent, as plaster, charjoal, 
burnt clay, etc. ; or thoroughly decomposed in con- 
tact with vegetable matter, as straw, leaves, etc. 
The liquid and soluble portion may be used as liquid 
manure, or may be poured over the fermenting dung 
heap. 

The clung of birds, as hens, pigeons, etc., and also 
guano, form a very convenient and most excellent top 
dressing for vine borders, but are better when applied 
as liquid manure during the growing season. 

An excellent manure may be made as follows: 
Sink a hole in any convenient part of the premises 
and fill up with saw-dust. On this pour all the 
urine that can be obtained from time to time, and 
keep closely covered with a broad cover. 

When sufficient has been added, or when the smell 
becomes offensive, remove the cover and place a pile 



212 OPEN ATE GRAPE CULTURE. 

of charcoal, burnt clay, coal ashes, or other absor- 
bent on top of it, and allow it to lie for a few weeks. 
At the end of that time, a mass of matter will have 
been produced almost equal to guano. 

Road scrapings form a good top dressing for most 
soils. Hoare considers them unrivalled for the grape 
vine, and such was the opinion of Speedily, who tells 
us: "The dust, or dirt, from roads, consists princi- 
pally of the following particulars : first, the soil of 
the vicinity ; secondly, the dung and urine of horses 
and other animals ; and thirdly, the materials of the 
road itself when pulverized. Various other matters 
may be brought by winds, and by other means, but 
the foregoing may be deemed the principal. The 
first of the above articles is brought to roads by the 
wheels of carriages, and the legs of horses and other 
animals ; the last is the worst part of the materials, 
as the dust and scrapings of roads, made and mended 
with soft stone that grinds fast away, is much infe- 
rior in its vegetating quality to that which is collected 
from hard roads. On the whole, however, this in- 
gredient of compost from the roads is unquestionably 
in general of a fertile nature, which may be attri- 
buted in part to the dung, urine, and other rich ma- 
terials, of which it is composed, and in part to a kind 
of magnetic power, impressed upon it by friction and 
its perpetual pulverization. 



MANURE. 213 

"Tlie nature of this road earth ought to be duly 
considered, when used in the vine compost, and its 
proportion adjusted according to its quality. In a 
sandy country it will naturally abound with particles 
of sand, and long and continued rains will, of course, 
wash away its best parts. High winds, too, in dry 
weather, will as certainly deprive it of its lightest 
and finest parts, especially when roads lie on emi- 
nences, or enjoy an open exposure. Those materials 
from roads are therefore preferable, which are pro- 
duced from an inclosed track in a low situation 
Pavements, however, and hard roads, produce the 
best sulture of all. The compost is much better 
when collected in a moderate dry state, than when it 
is either very wet or dusty. If scraped off the road 
in a wet and soft state, when it is become dry it will 
be hard and cloddy, and will require time to bring it 
to a proper condition. 

"When thus circumstanced, the best way of recover- 
ing it is to give it frequent turnings in hard, frosty 
weather." 

Dead animals may be used in a vine border if 
placed sufficiently far from the roots to allow of their 
being decomposed, before the roots reach them, as 
previously remarked. 

Any decaying matter in a border is very detri- 
mental. 



214 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

Charcoal is one of the best additions to any soil. 
It should be well burnt, however, and free from all 
smell of creosote, as this substance is rather prejudi- 
cial to the roots of the grape vine, although it seems 
to agree' with some plants ; (chiefly alliaceous, for 
which soot is a specific). On this account, when 
used for drainage in pots, it should be reburnt. 

I am informed by one successful grape culturist 
that unless this precaution of reburning is taken with 
most charcoal, it is rather prejudicial to the roots of 
young vines in pots than otherwise. I have found, 
however, that if well sprinkled (it need not be satu- 
rated) with putrid urine and allowed to lie for some 
time, it loses its injurious qualities and retains abund- 
ant nourishment, which is gradually given off to the 
roots of the plants as they require it. When used as 
a compost for enriching a vine border it had always 
better be saturated with night soil or urine. Even 
brick rubbish, if so treated, becomes of great value. 

Most of these solid matters are best added to the 
soil in the original formation of the border. This is 
especially the case with the primings of the vine, 
than which nothing can be more valuable. If added 
when the border is first formed, it will not only fur- 
nish nutriment for the vine, but will tend to keep the 
soil open and porous. For our established vines, there- 
fore, it will be best to depend upon liquid manure 



MANURE. 215 

and autumn top dressing of stable manure, and all 
solid matters may go to the formation of new vine- 
yards, of which we suppose there will in general be 
an annual addition. But where no new borders are 
being formed, it would be well to open trenches 
between the rows of vines, in which such matters 
might be buried. If this were done immediately 
after the vintage, the roots would recover the same 
season from any wounds they might receive, and the 
ultimate gain would greatly overbalance any tempo- 
rary injury. In doing this, it will of course be best 
to enrich but a small extent of border each year and 
do it thoroughly, so that it may afford a supply 
during many succeeding seasons. 

Liquid Manure. — Of all the forms in which manure 
can be applied, the liquid manure is the most conve- 
nient and the most effective. No garden or vineyard 
should be without a tank of this article, as its judi- 
cious application will often enable us to mature a 
fine crop under very unfavorable circumstances, its 
great advantage consisting in the immediate results 
obtained ; though this very quality, renders it a 
dangerous article in the hands of those who do not 
thoroughly understand its proper application. To 
prepare and preserve liquid manure, two tanks with 
good covers should be made in some convenient spot. 
In small gardens, barrels, such as are used for 



216 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

hydraulic cement, will answer — larger establishments, 
of course, requiring something more capacious. They 
Bliould be filled with chamber and kitchen slops and 
soap suds, the latter being generally added warm. 
On the large scale, when horse, cow, and other ma- 
nure can be obtained, it may be mixed with water and 
added to the contents of the barrels. Hen manure 
is one of the most valuable additions. Two barrels 
should be used, so as constantly to have some of the 
manure thoroughly decomposed. 

After standing for a week or ten days, it will be fit 
for use, and may either be applied to the surface of 
the border, or what is far better, introduced by means 
of subterranean drains or channels. These may con- 
sist simply of long wooden boxes, bored full of small 
holes and sunk about twelve inches beneath the 
surface, or of common horse shoe tiles placed in a 
similar position. Under any circumstances, it must 
have a tube at one end rising up to the surface, 
through which the liquid may be poured and which 
may be closed on the approach of winter so as to 
exclude frost. In very small gardens, it may prove 
sufficient to sink one or two flower pots in the border. 
These, being filled with the liquid manure, it will 
soak down amongst the'roots without the possibility 
of loss by evaporation from the surface of the ground. 
The pots should, of course, ordinarily be kept covered 



MANURE. 217 

Liquid manure is such a powerful agent, that there 
is only one season of the year at which it can he ap- 
plied ; that is from the time the first leaves are well 
developed until the fruit is fully formed. During 
this period a very weak solution may he applied in 
large quantities once or twice a week. The culturist, 
however, must remember that the solution must he 
weak — say one pailful of the contents of the barrels 
to six or ten pails of water, according to the strength 
of the original liquid. 

To prepare extemporaneous liquid manure ready 
for application to the borders or drains, dissolve two 
or three ounces of guano in a gallon of rain water. 
and allow to stand some rime, stirring occasionally. 

The principles which govern the application of this 
useful and powerful agent, are so clearly set forth by 
Dr. Linclley, in the last edition of his " Theory of 
Horticulture," that we cannot clo better than quote 
from him. 

" In order that the full effects of liquid manure 

should be felt without injury, it is indispensable : 1, 

that it should be weak, and frequently applied ; 2, 

that it should be perfectly clear ; 3, that it should be 

administered when plants are in full growth. If 

strong, it is apt to produce great injury, because of 

the facility with which it is absorbed, beyond the 

decomposing and assimilating power of plants. If 

10 



21S OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

turbid, ic carries with, it in suspension a large quan- 
tity of fine sedimentary matter, which fills up the 
interstices of the soil, or, deposited upon the roots 
themselves, greatly impedes their power of absorp- 
tion. If applied when plants are torpid, it either 
acts as in the case of being over strong, or it actually 
corrodes the tissues. 

" Let the manure be extremely weak ; it owes its 
value to matter that may be applied with consider- 
able latitude ; for they are not absolute poisons, like 
arsenic and corrosive sublimate, but only become 
dangerous when in a state of concentration. Gas 
water illustrates this ; pour it over the plant in the 
caustic state in which it comes from the gas-works, 
and it takes off every leaf, if nothing worse ensues. 
Mix it with half water — still it burns ; double the 
quantity once more — it may still burn, or discolor 
foliage somewhat. But add a tumbler of gas water 
to a bucketful of pure water, no injury whatever 
ensues ; add two tumblers full, and still the effect is 
salubrious, not injurious. Hence it appears to be 
immaterial whether the proportion is the hundredth 
or two hundredth of the fertilizing material. 

%{ Manuring is, in fact, a rude operation in which 
considerable latitude is allowable. The danger of 
error lies on the side of strength, not of weak- 
ness. 



MANURE. 219 

"To use liquid manure very weak and very often is, 
in fact, to imitate nature, than whom we cannot take a 
safer guide. This is shown by the carbonate of am- 
monia, carried to plants in rain, which is not under & 
stood to contain, under ordinary circumstances, more 
than one grain of ammonia in 1 lb. of water; so that 
in order to form a liquid manure of the strength of 
rain water, 1 lb. carbonate of ammonia would have to 
be diluted with about 7,000 lbs. weight of water, or more 
than three tons. Complaints which have been made 
of guano water and the like are unquestionably refer- 
able to their having been used too strong. 

"It must be borne in mind: 1, That liquid manure 
is an agent ready for immediate use, its main value 
depending upon that quality ; 2, that its effect is to 
produce exuberant growth ; and 3, that it will con- 
tinue to do so as long as the temperature and light 
required for its action are sufficient. 

"These 'three propositions, rightly understood, point 
to the true principles of applying it; and if they are 
kept in view, no mistakes can well be made. 

"With fruit, the period of application should be 
when the fruit, not the flowers, is beginning to swell. 
Nothing is gained by influencing the size or color of 
the flower of a fruit tree; ,what we want is to increase 
the size or the abundance of the fruit. If liquid 
manure is applied to a plant when the flowers are 



220 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

growing, the vigor which it communicates to them 
must also be communicated to the leaves ; but when 
leaves are growing unusually fast, there is sometimes 
a clanger that they may rob the branches of the sap 
required for the nutrition of the fruit ; stM$ if that 
happens, the latter falls off. There, then, is a source 
of danger which must not be lost sight of. No doubt 
the proper time for using liquid manure is when the 
fruit is beginning to swell, and has acquired, by its 
own green surface, a power of suction capable of 
opposing that of the leaves. 

" At that time liquid manure may be applied freely, 
and continued from time to time as long as the fruit 
is growing. But at the first sign of ripening, or even 
earlier, it should be wholly withheld." 

The action of manure is even now very far from 
being thoroughly understood. When modern chem- 
istry was first applied to agriculture, it was supposed 
that the great object of manure was merely to afford 
food for plants. But it was afterward found that 
other conditions were of equal importance, and that 
the advantage of many manures arose from their me- 
chanical influence upon the soil. At Lois "Weed on 
in England, excellent crops of wheat have been raised 
by thorough cultivation, without the application ot 
manure, and the same principle was advocated by 
Jethro Tull in 1731, whose famous system of horse 



MANURE. 221 

hoeing husbandly consisted simply in deep ploughing 
and thorough pulverization of the soil. 

But while the mechanical condition of the soil 
exerts a most important influence on the growth of 
plants, there can be no doubt that unless all those 
elements of which a plant is composed, exist in the 
soil, or are derivable from other sources, healthy 
vegetation is impossible. TulPs farm finally failed to 
yield fair crops, notwithstanding large expenditures, 
on the mechanical part of the process, and the same 
result is said, to have attended the rigorous applica- 
tion of his principles elsewhere. 

If the action of manures in general, is but imper- 
fectly understood, still less does its influence upon 
the vine and its products, seem to have been reduced 
to known laws. In Trance the use of manure has 
been productive of evils so great as to induce the 
company of wine merchants, and vineyard proprie- 
tors, to condemn the use of azotized manures entirely. 

On the other hand, the vine-dressers of Thomery, 
who produce the beautiful Chasselas de Fontainebleau 
grapes, use rich manures in liberal quantities. In 
general, it will be found in this, as in other cases, 
that a middle course is best. If the border has been 
purposely prepared in the first place, a vigorous 
growth will have been secured, while it was necessary 
that the vine should produce abundant wood, and 



222 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

when, after four or five years, the fruit is applied to 
the manufacture of wine, all rankness of growth will 
have disappeared. If, in after years, the vine should 
show symjDtoms of debility, it will be easy to supply 
it with nourishment, by means of liquid manure ; and 
if ample means are provided for keeping the roots 
very dry during the ripening process, so that we can 
regulate the period over which the effects of such 
application shall extend, we are inclined to believe 
that no evil results will follow. 

M. Laclrey suggests that but one portion of the 
vineyard be manured at one time, and that the wine 
from the part so treated be kept separate from the 
rest, until the evil influence of the manure has disap- 
peared. It is obvious, however, that if we could 
avoid entirely any loss, of even a part of the vineyard, 
it would be desirable. 

In this, however, as in all other matters, we must 
keep steadily in view the fact, that all rank vegeta- 
tion exerts an injurious influence, not only upon the 
fruit product of the current year, but on the wood 
upon which our next year's crop depends. 

In his "ISTouveau systeme de la culture de la vigne," 
Persoz attempts to avoid the evils incident to the 
ordinary mode of the application of manure, by add- 
ing to the soil those matters which tend to produce 
wood, and those which favor the production of fruit, 



MANUEE. 2l'3 

eacli at the appropriate time. His formulae are as 
follows. • 

Six pounds bone dust; three pounds leather clip- 
pings and other animal refuse ; (blood, horns, hoofs, 
etc.) and one pound gypsum, making in all ten pounds 
to be added to each square yard of border. This is 
done in the spring before the buds have pushed. 

As soon as the young shoots are well advanced, he 
manures each square yard with eight pounds silicate 
of potassa, and two pounds of the double phosphate of 
potassa and lime. Silicate of potassa he procures by 
fusing fifteen parts of quartz sand with ten of potassa 
and two of charcoal. 

The double phosphate of potassa and lime is pre- 
pared, by adding 18 lbs. of sulphuric acid to 24 lbs. 
of calcined and pulverized bones. This, after being 
w r ell stirred, is diluted with water, allowed to stand 
for three days, treated with hot water and filtered. 
Carbonate of potassa is then added, until the liquid 
is slightly alkaline, and it is then evaporated in a cast 
iron vessel, roasted at a red heat, mixed with the sili- 
cate, and the whole reduced to powder. 

A vine manured bv Persoz with 0.5 kiloffr. of sili- 
eate of potassa, 1.5 of phosphate of lime and potassa, 
and an equal weight of dried blood and goose dung, 
put forth in one year a shoot 11 metres in length, and 
yielded on nine shoots twenty-five bunches of grapes, 



224 OPIiN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

while a similar vine, which was not manured, produced 
a shoot only 4.6 metres long, w T ith only four or six 
blossoms, which faded away before their full devel- 
opment. — Liebig and Kopp : Annual Report. 



DISEASES AND INSECTS. 225 



CHAPTEE XII. 



DISEASES AND INSECTS. 



We confess we Lave had very little experience in 
the matter of diseases and insects affecting the grape 
vine. Our native varieties are so vigorous and hardy 
that disease rarely affects them, and during the grow- 
ing season they push with such rapidity, that the loss 
of a few leaves destroyed by insects is scarcely felt. 

But we are aware that it is not always so, and we 
shall therefore give as full an account as we can 
obtain of the formidable pests to which the grape 
grower is exposed. 

When growing in the open air in a suitable soil, 
and with a good exposure, the only two diseases to 
which the grape vine is liable, are mildew and 
the rot. The former appears in whitish spots on the 
surface of the leaves and wood, and when examined 
with a simple lens of 25 inch focus, shows a net-work 
of fungus with its sporules. 

For this, as well as for the red spider, no remedy 

has been found equal to sulphur, the use of which for 

this purpose has been known from time immemorial. 

10* 



2^t> OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

To apply it, use may be made either of a common 
dredger fixed to tlie end of a pole, or of a pair of 
bellows with a contrivance for admitting a small 
quantity of sulphur into the stream of air. Or it 
may be mixed with water and the foliage syringed 
therewith. But the most efficient method is that 
proposed by Dr. Price, who was the first to suggest 
pentasulphide of calcium for this purpose. 

This compound is prepared by boiling 30 parts by 
weight of caustic lime with 80 parts by weight of 
flowers of sulphur, suspended in a sufficient quantity 
of water ; heat is applied until the solution has ac- 
quired a dark red color and the excess of sulphur 
ceases to dissolve. The clear solution is drawn off, 
and after being diluted with 20 times its bulk of 
water, may be applied to the vines by means of a 
sponge, brush or syringe. 

Where flowers of sulphur is used, it should have a 
few drops of ammonia added before it is applied to 
the foliage, as the sulphurous acid with which it is 
saturated (derived from its combustion during dis- 
tillation) is always injurious to leaves and young 
shoots. 

The rot has rarely troubled our northern vineyards, 
though it is the great bane of vine culture in Ohio. 
We are inclined to believe that if vines are planted 
in soil, dry or well drained and not too rich, and bo 



DISEASES AND INSECTS. 227 

allowed to extend themselves moderately, but little 
need be apprehended from the rot. 

Dr. Asa Fitch has found upward of thirty different 
insects which prey upon the grape vine, but with the 
exception of the red spider, and occasionally the rose- 
bug, they do not injure the vine materially. 

The red spider (aca/rus tellarius) of which we give 
a cut (Fig. 60), we have found, not only under glass, 




Fig. 60. 

but on vines in the open air. It is a small, reddish - 
colored insect which it requires a sharp eye to detect. 
For this, as for mildew, sulphur is a specific, and we 
are always safe in giving our vines a good dusting of 
this substance, so as to 'prevent any injury which 
might arise from either source. 

The rose-bug has never troubled us much. It 
nearly destroyed Dr. Underbill's vineyards at one 
time, however, and we therefore give his account of 
the matter in his own words. 

" Several years since, when my vineyards were 



22S OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

smaller than at present, I found the rose-bug a 
formidable enemy. They appeared on the vines 
when they were in blossom, or just as the blossoms 
were falling off and the young grapes forming, and 
devoured them with the greatest avidity. This feast 
continued from eight to twelve days, or, until the 
cherries on the trees in the vicinity began to ripen, 
when they with one accord flew to them, for a 
change of diet, I presume, or from some other cause. 
I was quite familiar with the habits of the caterpil- 
lar, and had been in the practice of clearing them 
from my orchards in the spring, before they had 
destroyed scarcely a leaf. This I did not consider a 
great or difficult matter, for they were enveloped in a 
web early in the morning, and one man in a few 
days was able to clear many hundred trees, by twist- 
ing them off, web and all, with a basket, and care- 
fully placing them under his foot. The rose-bug, 
however, did not, like the caterpillar, make its 
appearance in clusters or webs, but in small numbers 
at first, and scattered through the vineyards, increas- 
ing rapidly every day. Though taken from the vines 
on the trellis every morning, they continued to mul- 
tiply till the eighth or twelfth day, when they 
suddenly left for the cherry-trees, as before stated. 
I was at a loss at first to know wdiere they came 
from, till at length I discovered the ground perfo 



DISEASES AND INSECTS. 229 

rated with numerous holes, through which they made 
their way to the surface. 

" I observed, when they first appeared on the 
vines, they were so feeble as to be unable to fly 
even for a few yards. Having surmounted all other 
difficulties, I was determined not to be defeated in 
the vineyard cultivation of the grape by this insect, 
and consequently resorted to the following means for 
their destruction. I directed my men to take each a 
cup, with a little water in it, and go through the 
vineyards every morning, removing every bug from 
the vines ; and this was done quite rapidly by 
passing the cup under the leaf, and merely touching 
it, when the bugs instantly dropped, and were re- 
ceived in the cup containing the water. When the 
cup was full, they were soon destroyed by pressing 
the foot upon them on a hard surface. After all of 
them had been taken off, on the following morning 
there were ten on the vines where we had found but 
one ; and the succeeding morning, after having been 
removed as before, there were one hundred where 
there were but ten, and so on. I was not discouraged, 
however, and directed my men to persevere in the 
work of destruction, and we should thus perhaps 
prevent the formation of another progeny for the 
next season, for it is very easily shown that they do 
not migrate to any great distance; and by thus 



230 OPEN AIE GKAPE CULTURE. 

destroying the present race, I am convinced that we 
insure ourselves from their further depredations to 
any injurious extent. When a person of some energy 
has cleared them from his vineyard or garden, he is 
pretty certain to enjoy the benefit of his labor an- 
other season as well as the present, though he may 
have a few from his less resolute neighbor. Pursu- 
ing the course I have mentioned, I very soon lessened 
the rose-bugs so much that they gave me very little 
trouble. 

" I also tried ploughing my vineyards just before 
winter set in, so as to expose to the weather the 
insect in the larva state, which will certainly destroy 
all the young tribe that have not descended below 
the reach of the plough. For two years past the 
number has been so small, that I have omitted this 
process for their destruction." 



HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GRAPE. 231 



CHAPTER XIII. 

METHOD OF HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GRAPE. 

Several methods have been proposed for causing 
grapes to ripen at an earlier period of the season than 
usual, or in localities where they would not other- 
wise ripen at all. The most successful, and, on the 
large scale, economical, mode of effecting this is un- 
doubtedly by means of glass houses, either with or 
without fire heat. A description of these is beyond 
the limits assigned to this work, though we may, per- 
haps, be allowed briefly to describe two devices of 
this nature, by which a few bunches may be matured 
at small expense and with very little trouble. 

"More than twenty years ago, a market gardener 
at Bath published a plan of ripening grapes under 
common hand-glasses. lie planted the vines in a 
soil composed in great part of lime rubbish ; placed a 
glass over each plant, taking out half a pane in its 
summit through which the leading shoot of the vine 
protruded itself, and grew in the open air. The 
bunch or bunches of grapes remained within the 
hand-glass, and enjoyed the advantages of protection 



232 



OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



from cold winds, dews, and rains during the night, 
and of a high, degree of confined solar heat during 
tlie day." — Loudon. 

Mr. Maund, editor of the "Botanic Garden," em- 
ploys the following method of obtaining a few 
bunches : " Although my experiment is not yet com- 
pleted, I cannot omit mentioning to you its success. 
Grapes grown on open walls in the midland counties 
are rarely well-ripened ; therefore, I provided a small 
glazed frame — a sort of narrow hand-glass — of the 
shape shown in the annexed outline, to fix against 
the wall, and inclosed in it one branch of 
the vine with its fruit and foliage. The 
open part, which rests against the wall, is 
13 inches w T ide, and may be of any length 
required to take in the fruit. The sides 
are formed of single panes of glass, seven 
inches wide, and meet on a bar which 
may represent the ridge of a roof, the ends 
inclosed by triangular boards, and having 
a notch to admit the branch. This w T as 
fixed on the branch a month before the vine came 
into flower. The consequence was, the protected 
branches flowered a week earlier than the exposed. 
The frame was not fitted closely to the wall, but in 
some places may have been a quarter of an inch from 
it. The lateral branches being: shortened before it 




f;r gi. 



HASTENING THE MiTtfRItY OE THE GE.APE. 235 

ivas fixed, it did not require removal, even for prun- 
ing, because I adopt the long-rod mode of training, 
which is peculiarly adapted to my partial protection 
system. 

"The temperature within the frame is always 
higher than that without, sometimes at mid-day even 
from 20 to 30 degrees. By this simple protection, I 
find grapes may be ripened from three weeks to a 
month earlier than when wholly exposed, and this 
saving of time will, I believe, not only secure their 
ripening well every year in the midland counties, 
but, also, that such advantage will be available in 
the north of England, where grapes never ripen on 
the open walls. I should have told you that the 
cold nights of spring have caused almost all the 
young fruit to fall off during the flowering season, 
excepting where it was protected. 

" To hasten the maturity of grapes grown in the 
open air, means may be taken to throw them early 
into a state of rest. On the 20th of September prune 
the vine as you would in the month of December, 
taking off all the leaves and grapes, ripe or unripe, 
and shortening all the branches to one, two or three 
eyes at most. The following spring it will push its 
buds a few days before any of the neighboring vines 
pruned in winter. Train it as carefully all the sum- 
mer as though you were certain it would ripen its 



i434r OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

crop of fruit. Pursue the same system annually, 
pruning the tree always between the 20th and 30th 
of September, and in the course of seven years you 
will be rewarded for your patience and expense with 
half a ripe crop in most summers, and a whole ripe 
crop in warm summers." — Loudon. 

The following method of hastening the maturity of 
grapes on open walls, was communicated to the Horti- 
cultural Society of London, by Mr. Thos. Fleetwood : 
"Before the vines are out of flower, he brings each 
bunch into a perpendicular position by a thread at- 
tached to its extremity, and fastened to a nail in the 
wall, carefully confining the young branch with the 
bunch thereon, as close to the wall as possible. The 
period of blossoming is preferred for this operation, 
because the bunch at that time takes a proper posi- 
tion, without injury. 

By this practice the bunches are kept so steady 
that the berries are not bruised by the action of the 
wind, and being fixed close to the wall, they receive 
such additional heat, that they ripen a month earlier 
than when left to hang in the usual way." 

But of all the plans which have been proposed, 
perhaps the simplest and most efficient is ringing, 
girdling or breaking. It has been employed for 
many years in France, although it is there conceded, 
that it injures the quality of the wine produced. Foi 



HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GRAPE. 2o6 

table purposes, however, the grapes seem to be im- 
proved both in size and appearance. 




Fig. 62. 

The French method is shown in Fig. 62. Here 
the annular incision is made just below the fruit 
bunch at the time of flowering. A pair of pincers 
with a double pair of semicircular jaws, makes both 
the upper and lower incision at once, when the bark is 
easily removed by the finger nail. 

The following are the details of an English practi- 
tioner: 



"The vines are generally cultivated upon the 
Hoare system, or, as it is called, the long rod system; 
but they are not so cultivated in every case, for 
sometimes an old bearer is spurred back to one or 
two buds, to carry its crop another year. My vines 
are very strong, and the rods or branches stand at 



2'»6 OVKN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

least three feet, or even three feet six inches, distant 
from each other, when winter pruned. This allows 
just sufficient room for the fruit-bearing laterals and 
a young rod to come up between every two bearers. 
This young rod, of course, to be the bearer of lateral 
the following year : 

"Thus no vines cultivated on any other system are 
so capable of being rung, without the disadvantage 
of killing or losing the future useful part of the tree, 
because on Hoare's long-rod system, the whole of 
the previous years, bearers will have to be cut entirely 
away. 

"The very right time to perform the ringing is 
just after the berries are all set, or have attained the 
the size of No. 2 shot, or small peas. In ringing, cut, 
with a sharp knife, clean round the branch between 
two joints. Or, if you are going to ring the laterals 
carrying the fruit, leave either two or three buds and 
leaves beyond the main stem, and make the ring just 
in the middle, between the third and fourth leaves, 
or joints. As I said before, make two cuts clean 
through the bark, quite down into the wood, one inch 
apart, and remove the bark clean away, all round 
the branch or lateral. By this means, if you are in 
the habit of spur pruning, the hinder buds are left all 
right, to spur back the following year. If you prune 
upon the long-rod system, you may ring the rod just 



HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GRAPE. 23 



-t>< 



wherever you please — the whole branch, if you like — ■ 
as the rung part will have to be cut away entirely 
after the fruit is gathered. 

"The ringing is performed just the same on an old 
whole branch as in that of the young lateral carrying 
one or two bunches. I have repeatedly rung old 
branches, that have been carrying from twenty to 
thirty bunches of grapes, with the same good effect ; 
only it has been such branches that I have intended 
to cut away entirely the following autumn : of 
course, thinning out the berries of the bunches, and 
the bunches too, if excellence be aimed at, is of 
the utmost importance. The process of thinning this 
cannot be too early attended to. I always begin as soon 
as the fruit is fairly set, and continue to remove all 
inferior berries, and, with a good pair of scissors and 
clean fingers, using my eyes to see what I am about, 
so as not to injure the berries by handling and maul- 
ing them. 

"By thus practising ringing, I have produced for 
the last twelve or fourteen years, grapes, out of doors, 
that have puzzled many a tyro and others too. 

"Our indefatigable editors have both watched my 
progress in vine culture for years. My grapes have 
many a time puzzled the late Mr. Elphinstone, when 
he was gardener to the late speaker of the House of 
Commons, now Lord Eversley, although I used to 



238 OPEN AIR OltAPE CULTURE. 

compete against him, with "both indoor and outdoor 
grapes, at our Hampshire horticultural show in No- 
vember. 

" As a matter of course, I had read of ringing fruit 
trees, etc., but it never struck me to put the same 
into practice until about fourteen years ago, when my 
attention was called to it in an amateur friend's gar- 
den, Mr. Frampton, glass and paint merchant of this 
city. I happened to walk in and look at some vines 
to which he was paying great attention at that time. 
This was in the month of September, and here I first 
saw the ringing process of the vine. Seeing a few 
bunches of the Black Hamburg so large in the berry, 
and all ripe, I began to inquire into the particulars, 
when Mr. Frampton kindly showed me where the 
branches were rung, and that the ringing was the 
cause of their being so very large and so early. I 
then wanted to know whence Mr. Frampton obtained 
his information, when he showed it to me in the 
' Penny Cyclopaedia,' from the pen of Professor 
Henslow.'' — Thos. Weaver, Gardener to the Warden 
of Winchester College. 

[It is quite true that we have watched for some 
years, with great interest, the experiment upon ringing 
vines carried on by Mr. Weaver, and we can authen- 
ticate his statement of the mode of ringing and its 



HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GKAPE. 230 

results. It must not be clone in that petty timid 
manner hinted at by a contemporary. There must be 
a ring of bark perfectly removed ; the cuts being 
made boldly down to the very young wood, or albur- 
num, and every particle of bark, inner and outer, 
must be removed between the cuts. (See Fig. 63,} 




^ 



llliljjl 




This drawing represents, faithfully, the. rung \ :cz 
of a rod at the close of autumn, and shows how the 
removal of the band of bark checked the return of the 
sap, and how, in consequence, the rod above the 



240 OPEN AIR GRArE CULTURE. 

removed band increased in size beyond that portion 
of the rod below the band. 

The effect upon the berries was, in every instance, 
to advance their early ripening a fortnight, and to 
about double the size and weight of the berries, when 
coTnpared with those grown on unrung branches of 
the same vine. ]STor was the color and bloom of the 
berries diminished ; indeed, so excellent were they, 
that we have seen them exhibited deservedly by the 
side of grapes grown under glass, and they were sold 
in November, at Winchester, for half-a-crown a 
pound. 

Ringing the branches of fruit-trees, to render them 
fruitful, was practised in France, and recommended 
there in print, about a century and a half since. 
There are various letters upon the subject in the 
early volumes of the " Horticultural Society's Trans- 
actions," and in one of them (vol. 1, page 107), 
published in 1808, Mr. Williams, of Pitmaston, gives 
full directions for ringing the grape vine. He tells 
the result, in these words : " I invariably found that 
the fruit not only ripened earlier, but that the ber- 
ries were considerably larger than usual, and more 
Lsghly flavored." — Editor of the Cottage Gardener.'] 



CAKE OF OLD VINES. 241 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CAEE OF OLD VINES. 

There are scattered through the country numerous 
old vines of large growth and great age, which have 
been trained upon trellises, through trees, against the 
sides of houses and on arbors, without much skill or 
attention. These well deserve good culture, and the 
owners would gladly bestow it if they knew how. 
For their benefit, a few hints in this direction may 
not be out of place. 

Such vines have in general either been left entirely 
to themselves, or trained wholly on the long-spur 
system, no new wood except these spurs being kept 
from last year's growth to supply the wants of next 
year, and the strength has thus been thrown to the 
ends of the stems, leaving them barren for a great 
distance from their base. 

Vines in this condition, if of good origin, may, by 
judicious management, be speedily made to bear 
large crops of excellent fruit, as their roots are large 
and powerful, and fully competent to supply nutri- 
ment to a large crop of grapes. 

11 



24:2 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

If the stems are tolerably well supplied with bearing 
spurs, it may be advisable to take good care of such 
of these as we can find, and where there is a barren 
spot, to train a young shoot over it from the nearest 
bearing spur. Upon this young shoot spurs may soon 
be made, which will bear admirably. 

But, in almost all cases, the better plan will be to 
gradually renew the whole vine, as strong, vigorous 
shoots, when once laid in for main branches and we./, 
supplied with bearing spurs or canes, will last for a 
long time and give satisfactory results with far less 
labor than is required by an old and straggling vine. 

This change had better be effected gradually, a 
portion of the old wood being retained until the 
young shoots come into bearing, so that we need not 
be entirely deprived of fruit during its progress. 

Commence, then, at the spring or winter pruning, 
and remove all the wood that can be well spared, 
keeping only a few of the best main branches, and 
cutting the spurs on these very close, leaving not 
more than one eye to each. 

This severe pruning will cause the vine to throw 
up numerous strong shoots, or suckers, from near the 
roots. Two or three of the best of these must be 
selected and trained to stakes, away from the trellis 
or arbor, so as to give them all the light and air pos- 
sible ; the laterals which start from these must be 



CARE OF OLD VINES. 



243 



pinched at the third leaf, and they should be stopped 
about the middle or end of September. All other 
shoots from the base of the vine, as well as all useless 
or barren shoots on other parts, must be carefully re- * 
moved as fast as they appear, sp as to throw as much 
as possible into the canes we had selected. 

Next season, these canes must be disbudded and 
laid in as follows : Having removed all laterals and 
tendrils and tied them firmly to the trellis, as shown 
in Fig. 64, commence at the first good bud from the 




Fig. 64. 



base, which leave, and then remove all the buds for a 
space of from 14 to 20 inches. Between 14 and 20 
inches we will certainly find a good bud on the 



£J4 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

upper side of the cane (as it is tied to the trellis), 
which must be kept, and all the buds on the next 
eqnal space, removed in the same manner. So pro- 
ceed until you have laid in ten or a dozen buds on 
each cane, when it should be cut off. We will now 
have two or more horizontal arms, each of which will 
throw up from 5 to 6 vertical canes of a strength 
sufficient to bear fruit next year, and the same num- 
ber of short shoots which will form spurs for next 
year's bearing canes. But in order to make sure of 
this, we must prune the old vine very severely, in- 
deed, and if we could make up our minds to do with- 
out fruit for one year and cut it all away, we would 
be gainers by it in the end. But in any case, all 
fruit must be removed from our new wood, as the 
steins will have enough to do to cover the trellis 
without bearing a crop of grapes. 

Next year, the canes Z>, h, 5, 5, b, will bear a full 
crop of fruit, and shoots must be trained up from the 
spurs, a, a, a, a, «, a, to take their place at the winter 
pruning. The whole management will now be the 
same as that previously described for vineyards. 

If it be preferred to train up the vine on the spur 
system, the buds at a, a, a, a, a, a, should be removed 
when the cane is disbudded the first season, and after 
having borne once on the long-rod system, the canes 
bj b,b, b : 5, will be well provided with shoots by cutting 



CAKE OF OLD VINES. 215 

back on wliicli good spurs may be formed. These spurs 
should be distributed along the canes at a distance 
t of 14 to 20 inches on each side, and may be managed 
individually ^as described in Chap. YIL 

The height to which spur-bearing canes may be 
carried is, perhaps, without limit, if they are properly 
treated and the vines have sufficient root power. 
But in practice, we do not think that it will be well 
to have them longer than 6 to 8 feet. They are thus 
kept within bounds, and any one which may become 
barren is more easily renewed than if they are of 
greater length. 

Where the vines are managed on the long-rod sys- 
tem, we would never have the canes over 6 feet long, 
and if only 4 J to 5 feet, so much the better. 

Thus, if we desired to cover a wall or trellis fifteen 
feet high, we would have two tiers of arms carrying 
spur-bearing canes each 7 feet long, or three tiers 
carrying long-rod or renewal canes. 

Before proceeding to renew an old vine, it may be 
well to manure it thoroughly, either by a good top 
dressing in the fall, liquid manure during the grow- 
ing season, or by digging a trench about six feet from 
the roots and filling it with good compost, bones, etc. 

An excellent plan for feeding an old vine is to 
make a basin about six inches deep round its roots, 
with boards, against the outside of which sufficient 



246 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTCEF. 

heavy soil lias been placed to make it water-tight. 
Then, during the growing season, let this basin be 
filled with soap-suds every washing day — mixing 
them with chamber slops, etc. During the winter, it 
should be filled with leaves and primings, over which 
a little earth may be thrown to keep the wind from 
blowing them about, and preventing an unsightly 
appearance. If the roots of the vine are so near 
the house as to be unsightly when treated in this 
manner, the basin might easily be provided with a 
light board cover neatly painted. It might be 
requisite to form it in two parts, having notches 
through which the stem of the vine can pass. 

That a good manuring will often cause a vine 
which has been previously unfruitful to bear abun- 
dant crops, is well known. We have now in mind 
an instance of a vine which after remaining barren 
for many years suddenly became quite fruitful from 
chickens making a roost of the trellis on which it 
grew. 



TO PRESERVE GRAPES. 247 



CHAPTEIi XV. 



TO PRESERVE GRAPES. 



Although He who " has made everything beauti- 
ful in his season," no doubt designed grapes to be 
nsed while fresh, yet, though we cannot preserve the 
exquisite flavor of newly -gathered grapes, we may, 
nevertheless, prolong their season, if not in its full 
excellence yet with sufficient attraction to make it 
worth while. 

With proper care, grapes may be kept until 
Christmas, and at that time will command a price 
which would not be paid for fresh fruit during the 
height of the grape season. 

As yet, the preserving of the fruit seems to be but 
little understood, and although we have kept grapes 
until January in a very palatable state, and we have 
tasted others which have been tolerably preserved 
until March, we must, acknowledge that none of these 
attempts quite came up to our desires, however much 
others might have praised the result. The truth is, 
that grapes in March will never be very severely 
criticised under any circumstances. They are too 
much of a rarity for that. 



248 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 

Although the foreign grapes which are imported, 
packed in sawdust, are said to he gathered before 
they are fully ripe, we helieve that this plan is not 
suited to our native varieties. They should always 
be fully ripe "before they are gathered, and this should 
he done on a clear, dry day before they have been 
touched with frost. The bunches should be carefully 
examined, none but the first-rate ones selected, and 
they must be scrupulously freed from all dirt, such as 
leaves, spielers' webs, insects, etc. All decayed or 
unripe berries must be removed with a pair of sharp 
scissors (merely pulling them off will not do) ; and 
they should be exposed to the air (but not the sun) 
for a few hours before being packed away. In one 
case where, after the grapes were gathered, the 
weather became damp before they were put up, we 
know them to have been placed in a moderately 
warm oven for rather more than five minutes, and 
the result was very good. 

The following are a few of the methods which have 
been'recommended : 

1st. Procure some fine, dry sawdust (avoiding that 
from resinous or scented wood), and pack the grapes 
in a box or barrel, in layers, being careful to have 
sufficient between the bunches to prevent their 
touching. Bran is sometimes substituted for saw- 
dust. 



TO PRESERVE GRAPES. 240 

2d, Wrap each bunch in fine, clean dry paper, 
and put away in layer* in boxes. 

3d. Take a good box and place a layer of cotton 
batting on the bottom; on this place a layer of 
grapes, then a layer of batting and so on. until the 
box is full, wrapping each cluster in thin paper. 
Some omit the paper. 

1th. Seal up the ends of the stems with wax, and 
suspend them in a cool, dry and dark room, looking 
them over occasionally and removing unsound berries 
and bunches. 

The French suspend their bunches by the lower 
ends to a little hook (see Appendix). Some cultiva- 
tors, however, cut away the fruit-bearing branches 
and preserve the grapes attached to them. 

It has been advised to immerse the stems of the 
bunches in wine, before the fruit is used ; but as they 
are always dried up and incapable of transmitting 
fluid, we have found it better to immerse the whole 
bunch in cold water for half an hour or so. This 
restores the plumpness of the berries and removes 
some of the foxy flavor which is apt to tinge our 
native grapes when long kept. 



U ! 



THE OHIO SYSTEM OF VINEYARD CULTURE. 

This is merely a modification of the French and German 
methods, having been generally introduced by vine-dressers 
from those countries. It is, we believe, now generally giving 
place to the trellis system of culture, which seems to be better 
adapted to the habit of our native vines. Vines and even vine- 
yards may be found around Cincinnati, which are trained dif- 
ferently from the method here described, but nevertheless, the 
following is what is known as the Ohio system. 

The ground having been properly prepared, the vineyard is 
set out either with cuttings or rooted plants, generally the 
former. In setting out cuttings, holes about two feet deep are 
made with a stilt or dibble, shod with iron, and after inserting 
two cuttings in each, the holes are filled in with sand which is 
washed into imnieuiate contact with the cuttings by means of 
water. During the first season, the vines are allowed to grow 
at random, the ground, however, being kept clean and mellow. 

In the spring of the second season the vines are pruned, which 
is done by removing all the wood made by the young cutting, 
and also all the roots which spring from the cutting, within 
several inches of the surface. Fig. 1 shows the young plan**.. 
The soil being removed, the roots e, e, e are cut oft" close to the 
250 



THE OHIO SYSTEM. 



251 




Fig. 65. 



stem, the shoots a b are cut clean out, and c is cut down to one 
eye, which should be as near the old wood as possible, and if on 
it, so much the better. During the second year the vines are 
treated nearly the same as the cuttings were during the first 
year, and the spring pruning is also the same. 

During the third summer, three or four shoots are trained up 
and carefully tied to stakes; laterals are pinched out and the 
shoots stopped in September. 

During the fourth year, the vines are allowed to bear on the 
spurs produced by cutting back the shoots of the previous 
season to six or eight inches. These spurs of course throw up 
fruit-bearing canes, which during the fifth season are tied to 
stakes in bows, so as produce a crop of grapes, and at the winter 
pruning the bows are cut away, their place being filled next 
season by a fresh cane trained up for the purpose du'-ing the pre- 
ceding summer. 



253 



THE OHIO SYSTEM. 



The following figures will illustrate this fully : Fig. G6 shows 
the vine in the fall of the fourth year ; h is the head of the 




Fig. M. 



vine, b the arras or thighs, as they are sometimes calUd ; and 
rr, &, c, d are the canes which bore fruit last year ; ~b and c are 
cut off to one good bud, and a and d, after being shortened, are 
formed into bows and tied to stakes, so that the vine in the spring 
of the fifth year presents the appearance shown in Fig. G7. 
The bow will now yield a liberal crop of grapes, and a few 
bunches will be obtained from the shoots springing from the 
spurs & and c, though they must not be allowed to bear much, 
as it is desired that they should grow strong and vigorous so aa 
to form the bnws for next year. If the vines are strong, they 
may be allowed to bear more, and other spurs are sometime:* 
allowed to grow from the arms where the vines will bear it. 



THE OHIO SYSTEM. 



253 




Fi«. &T. 



The arms themselves are renewed every few years, so as to get 
rid of ail the old gnarled spurs, by training new shoots from the 
spurs e e. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 



It is still a disputed question whether or not it is 
possible for good wine to be manufactured in the 
United States. Daniel Webster, whose high intel- 
lectuality did not detract from his fondness for the 
pleasures of the table, declared that we could never 
hope to make good wine on this continent, and that 
it would always pay us better to raise corn, cotton, 
etc., for export, and buy our wines and silks. On the 
other hand, the following letters from President 
Jefferson to Mr. Adlum would seem to establish the 
fact that, even at an early day, wine had been made 
in this country of more than ordinary quality : 

EXTRACTS OF LETTERS FROM MR. JEFFERSON, LATE PRESIDENT OP 
TITE UNITED STATES. 

Dated October 7th, 1809. 

" While I lived in "Washington, a member of Congress from 
your State (I do not recollect which) presented me with two 
bottles of wine made by you, one of which, of Madeira color, 
he said w T as entirely factitious; the other, a dark red wine, 
made from a wild or native grape, called in Maryland a Fox 
grape, but very different from what is called by that name in 
Virginia. This teas a very fine wine, and so exactly resen.oliiuj 
the red Burgundy of Chamoerlin {one of the lest crops) that on 
a fair comparison with that, of which I had rery good on tlu 
£54 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 255 

same table, imported by myself from the place where made, the 
company could not distinguish the one from the other. I think 
it would be well to push the culture of that grape, without 
losing our time and efforts in search of foreign vines, which it 
will take centuries to adapt to our soil and climate." 

Dated April 20th, 1819. 

" The quality of the bottle you sent me before satisfies mo 
that we have at length found one native grape inured to all 
the accidents of our climate, which will give us a wine worthy 
the best vineyards of France. "When you did me the favor of 
sending me the former bottle, I placed it on the table with some 
of the best Burgundy of Chamberlin, lohich I had imported 
myself from the maker of it, and desiring the company to point 
out which was the American bottle, it was acknowledged they 
could perceive no difference." 

Dated April 11, 1823. 

"I received successively two bottles of wine you were so 
kind as to send me; the first, called Tokay, is truly a fine tcine, 
of high flavor, and as you assure me there was not a drop of 
brandy or other spirit added to it, I may say it is a wine of a 
good body of its own. The second bottle, a red wine, I tried 
when I had good judges at the table ; we agreed it was a wine 
one might always drinlc with satisfaction, hut of no peculiar 
excellence. Speaking of brandy being added to the wine, he 
Sciys it is never done but by the exporting merchants, and then 
only for the English and American markets, where, by a viti- 
ated taste, the intoxicating quality of wine, more than its flavor, 
is required by the palate." 

Now Mr. Jefferson and his friends were no doubt 
accustomed to drink good wines, and we think their 
opinions valuable, although at the same time it must' 
be confessed that they were not very extraordinary 



25(3 TflK MANUFACTURE OF WINK. 

judges, or they would have detected a difference 
between the French and American wines. The 
question of superiority may sometimes be disputed 
even by good judges, that of identity never. 

Good wine lias also been made in the south of 
England, as the following extract from Barry's work 
on wines will show, and as it contains some practical 
notes on wine-making, we give it entire : 

" The vineyard of Painshill is situated on the south side of a 
gentle hill ; the soil a gravelly sand ; it is planted entirely with 
the two sorts of Burgundy grapes : the Auvernat, which is the 
most delicate, but the tenderest ; and the Miller grape, com- 
monly called the black cluster, which is more hardy. The first 
year T attempted to make red v\ ine in the usual way, by tread- 
ing the grapes, then letting them ferment in a vat till the hulls 
and impurities formed a thick crust at the top, the boiling 
ceased, and the clear wine was drawn off from the bottom. 

" This essay did not answer; the wine was so very harsh and 
austere, that I despaired of ever making red wine fit to drink. 
But through that hardness I perceived a flavor something like 
some small French white wines, which made me hope I should 
succeed better with white wine. That experiment succeeded 
far beyond my most sanguine expectations ; for the very first 
year I made white wine, it nearly resembled the flavor of cham- 
pagne, and in two or three years more, as the vines grew 
stronger, to my great amazement, my wine had a better flavor 
than the best champagne I ever tasted. The first running was 
as clear as spirits, the second running was ceil de perdrix, and 
both of them sparkled and creamed in the glass like champagne. 
It would be endless to mention how many good judges of wine 
were deceived by my wine, and thought it superior to any 
champagne they ever drank; even the Duke de Mirepoix pre- 
ferred it to any other wine. But such is the prejudice of most 
people against anything of English growth, I generally found it 
most prudent not to declare where it grew till after they had 



THE MAJSTUFACTUEE OF AVINE. 257 

passed their verdict on it. The surest proof I can give of its 
excellence is that I have sold it to wine merchants for fifty 
guineas a hogshead ; and one wine merchant, to whom I sold 
live hundred pounds' worth at one time, assured me he sold 
some of the best of it from 7s. Gd. to 10s. 6d. per bottle. 

" After many years' experience, the best method I found of 
making and managing it was this: I let the grapes hang till 
they got all the maturity the season would give them. Then 
they were carefully cut off with scissors and brought home to the 
vine barn in small quantities, to prevent their heating or pressing 
one another ; then they were all picked off the stalks, and all the 
moldy or green ones were discarded before they were put upon 
the press, where they were all pressed in a few hours after they 
were gathered ; much would run from them before the press 
squeezed them, from their own weight one upon another. This 
running was as clear as water and sweet as syrup, and all this 
of the first pressing, and part of the second, continued white. The 
other pressings grew reddish, and were not mixed with the best. 
As fast as the wine ran from the press into a large receiver, it 
was put into hogsheads and closely bunged up. In a few hours 
one could hear the fermentation commence, which would soon 
burst the casks if not guarded against by hooping them strongly 
with iron and securing them in strong' wooden frames and the 
heads with wedges. In the height of the fermentation I have 
frequently seen the wine oozing through the pores of the 
staves. 

" These hogsheads were left all the depth of winter in the 
cool barn to reap the benefits of the frosts. "When the fermen- 
tation was over, which was easily discovered by the cessation 
of noise and oozing— but, to be more certain, by pegging the 
c'aak — w hen it would be quite clear, then it was racked off into 
clean hogsheads and carried to the vaults, before any warmth 
of weather could raise a second fermentation. In March the 
hogsheads were examined. If they were not quite hue, they 
were fined down with common fish glue, in the usual manner; 
those that were fine of themselves were not fined down, and all 
were bottled about the end of March, and in about six weeks 



25S TIIE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 

more would be in perfect order for drinking, and would be in 
their prime for above one year; but the second year the flavor 
and sweetness would abate and would gradually decline, till at 
last it lost all flavor and sweetness, and some that I kept sixteen 
years became so like old hock that it might pass for such to one 
who was not a perfect connoisseur. The only art I ever used 
to it was putting three pounds of white sngar-candy to some of 
the hogsheads, when the wine was first tunned from the press, 
in order to conform to a rage that prevailed to drink none but 
very sweet champagne. 

" I am convinced that much good wine might be made In 
many parts of the south of England. Many parts are south of 
Painshill, many soils may be yet fitter for it, and many situa- 
tions must be so, for mine was much exposed to southwest winds 
(the worst of all for vines) and the declivity was rather too 
steep. Yet with these disadvantages it succeeded many years. 
Indeed, the uncertainty of our climate is against it, and many 
fine crops have been spoiled by May frosts and wet summers. 
But one good year balances many disappointments. 

" Captain St. Pierre, who has established a great colony of 
vignerons in South Carolina, and carried there three years ago 
above three hundred vignerons from different parts of Europe, 
was with me several days before his departure, was charmed 
with my vineyard, and he had cultivated vineyards many years 
in France. He was very happy at my giving him all the cut- 
tings of my vineyard, as he found it very difficult getting the 
right sort, and though his plantations are about the latitude of 
33°, he has not the least doubt of having excellent wine there, 
which, if he has, must be of infinite service to this country." 

Still more recently Mr. Longworth Las succeeded 
in the manufacture of fine champagne wines, which 
we believe are valued as high as any, except the very 
finest brands of foreign wines. 

Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, and pwe 
tbine should contain nothing else. When su<rar and 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 2^9 

spices are added, and exist in the fluid as such, the 
product is no longer wine, but liqueur or cordial. 
Some have, however, extended this principle so far 
as to assert that any addition to the juice of the 
grape, either before or after its fermentation, robs it 
of its claim to the name of wine ; but to this we 
cannot subscribe. If we by any process could pro- 
duce a fluid identical in its chemical and physical 
properties with the juice of the grape, we could no 
doubt make good and real wine therefrom. And if 
so, then surely the addition of any ingredient which 
may be required to bring the juice up to the quality 
and composition of a good wine-making must, cannot 
have any but a good effect, and must produce a real 
wine. 

Now the juice of the grape varies in composition 
from several causes. The variety of grape, the cli- 
mate in which it is produced, the character of the 
soil in which it grows, the nature of the manure with 
which it has been nourished, the mode in which it 
has been pruned, its exposure to sun and air, and 
many other influences, all modify the character of the 
must, and consequently of the wine produced there- 
from. In almost every locality we are confined to a 
few varieties of grapes, and as the climatic condi- 
tions are also in a great measure beyond our control, 
we must depend upon judicious pruning, manuring 
and cultivation for the production of the best grapes 
i'oc the manufacture of wine. In former chapters we 
have detailed the peculiarities of vine-dressing as 
adapted to the producing of wine-making grapes; 



2G0 THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 

but we may "be excused for briefly reca] itulatiiig 
them. 

Must for wine requires to be highly saccharine, 
and although the wines manufactured from Ame- 
rican grapes have not yet shown much inorganic 
matter (potash salts) in their compcsition, yet the 
best wines in Europe are made from grapes contain- 
ing an extra quantity of these matters. In order, 
therefore, to the production of a good wine, it will 
be requisite to produce grapes not only thoroughly 
ripened by a hot sun acting on the leaves, but they 
should also contain the juices and inorganic salts in 
large amount. 

With a view to this, it will be necessary in the 
fall, and shortly after the vintage, to lightly fork in a 
dressing of bone-dust, guano or hen manure; and on 
the fall of the leaf, and before any frosts set in, the 
border should be covered with the fallen leaves 
raked together and mixed with stable litter or clean- 
ings. This will protect the roots from the severity 
of our winteis, and enable them to sustain the draft 
made in spring by the branches at an earlier date 
than they otherwise would. 

In the spring, after the weather has become settled, 
the border should be very lightly forked over and 
the long litter removed; the rest may be mixed with 
the surface soil. 

The vine having been properly pruned, must be 
allowed to break its fiicds, as it is termed, and push 
out the young stems until those which premise best 
can be clearly distinguished. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 26' i 

As rood as the leaves are formed, liquid manure 
may be applied if the number of vines cultivated will 
permit of it, and this application of liquid manure 
may be continued until after the middle of July. It 
should then cease for the season. Meanwhile, as 
soon as the young shoots are well formed, all the 
weakly ones should be rubbed off, carrying the pru- 
ning recommended in former pages to even a greater 
degree of severity than there noted. 

By these means the grapes will be obtained ripe 
much earlier and of a higher (not stronger) flavor. 
The importance of having the grapes ripe early will 
be appreciated when we consider that, other things 
being equal, the heat and dryness -of the season in 
which they ripen will be the measure of the per- 
fection of the grapes, at least in this latitude. Kow, 
in 1858, the menu temperature of August was 60° 
Fahrenheit, while the mean temperature of Septem- 
ber was only 61°, and as the amount of rain which 
fell in each month was equal, the grapes which were 
ripe by the beginning and middle of September were 
much richer in saccharine and other wine-making 
elements than those which were produced in the cool 
and damp atmosphere of September and October. 

From the foregoing observations it will be evident 
that in preparing must for wine we must pay par- 
ticular attention to the quality of the grapes and the 
circumstances under which they were raised. Thus, 
in Cincinnati, no sugar is added to the juice of the 
Catawba ; it is fermented just as it comes from the 
press. But in more northern climes, not only does 



262 THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 

the juice of the Isabella and Clinton require sugar, 
but that of the Catawba stands in need of it, in order 
to make, not a sweet but a full-bodied wine, which 
will bear keeping. 

In the manufacture of wine from the grape, the 
first process is to carefully pick over all the-grapes, 
rejecting those which are unripe, rotten, mildewed, 
or imperfect in any other way. The rejection of the 
stems will depend upon the character of the wine. 
desired. If retained, they impart a roughness to the 
wine, which some admire ; and it is claimed by some, 
that the tannin of the stems helps to preserve the 
wine. The grapes are then to be mashed, which is 
easily done with the hands if in small quantity. In 
the large way it is performed by passing the grapes 
between rollers armed with pins. On a smaller scale, 
a beetle or stamper, armed with pins, may be used ; 
and where but a few are prepared (as for domestic 
purposes) the hands alone can perform the work. A 
gentleman of this city has devised a very useful and 
efficient machine, in which, by passing the grapes 
between rollers covered with india-rubber, the juice 
is expressed and separated from the husks without 
bruising the stems or seeds. 

If prepared in the ordinary way, the must may be 
allowed to ferment either before or after the juice has 
been separate! from the seeds and husks. Fermer> T - 
ing the husks and seeds gives a roughness and harsh- 
ness to the wine as well as a higher color. For tin? 
finest wines the juice only is fermented. 

This is effected by simply allowing the juice t«* 



THE MANUFACTURE OF 'WINE. 203 

stand in casks filled three-fourths full. Fermentation 

speedily sets in ; the saccharine matter becomes con- 
verted into carbonic acid, which escapes, and alcohol, 
which remains in combination with the fluid, and 
gives it the character of wine. At first the fermen- 
tation is very violent, but after a time it moderates, 
when the casks should be filled up, lightly bunged, 
and kept during winter in a temperately cool apart- 
ment. In spring it should be carefully drawn off, 
either by means of a syphon or through a hole bored 
into the cask some distance above the bottom, so as 
to avoid disturbing the lees. After this, fermentation 
should be avoided as much as possible, which is best 
effected by a low temperature and the exclusion of 
oxygen. It is generally considered best, we believe, 
to leave the wine at least one season in the cask into 
which it has been drawn off. In some cases it is kept 
for years in the " wood," as it is termed. 

Wine can of course be made of any kind of grape, 
though in and around Cincinnati the Catawba is 
altogether preferred. Tolerable wine has been made 
of the Isabella, and in the hands of Dr. Underbill it 
has proved of superior excellence for this purpose. 
But for all northern localities we think the Clinton 
Dromises to be the wine grape. When carefully 
pruned and thinned, so as to get fair bunches instead 
of the load of little sour trash usually seen, the 
OKnton grape is peculiarly rich in saccharine and 
saline matter. Of its wine-making qualities Nicho- 
las Longworth speaks as follows in a letter to " The 
Horticulturist :" 



264: THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 

"I believe I advised you that the must and wine of the 
Clinton grape differed from any I have ever seen. The must 
weighs very heavy, indicating a large quantity of saccharine 
matter ; the wine, fully fermented, acid and weighing but little, 
and indicating but little spirit. Of the grapes you sent last 
spring I made two kinds of wine. One part I pressed as soon 
as worked, and put at the rate of seventeen ounces of sugar to 
the gallon of must ; the other I worked and left to ferment in 
the skins before pressing, and put no sugar. The first is a beau- 
tiful dark red, which I have never seen equalled, and very clear. 
It has no sweetness and is rather dry, but of fine flavor. The 
other is clear, very dark red, and more acid, but of fine flavor. 
I deem that in our warmer latitude the must will have more 
sugar, and will make a valuable red wine, an article we have 
not at present. 

11 1 am very desirous of giving the grape a further trial, and 
shall esteem it a favor if you will engage and send me from two 
to five bushels of grapes, and let them be as ripe as possible. 
1 shall also be pleased to get from two to five thousand cut- 
tings. I will next spring graft a dozen roots with this grape, 
and the next season guarantee to have grapes enough to test 
how they will suit our climate, as 1 have had grafts grow the 
first season from ten to thirty feet, and often bear some fruit the 
same season." 

The following letter, received from a lady whose 
wine we can testily to be of very superior excellence, 
contains directions slightly different from those in 
ordinary use, and in some respects perhaps superior. 
We give it in her own words, which it may be hut 
justice to say, were not originally intended for pub 
lication : 

"After the 'grapes are gathered, pick carefully from the clus- 
ters all the good ones. ■ Wash these, being careful not to masli 
ae seeds (we had a little machine for this purpose that turned , 



THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 265 

with a crank). Have ready a perfectly sweet cask, that has a 
hole, about an inch in diameter, bored in one side near the bot- 
tom ; fit into this hole a stick from six to eight inches long, with 
a hole bored from end to end of sufficient size to let the juice 
flow freely. through it. Stop this hole tightly with a plug; as 
the grapes are mashed, pour the juice, skins, pulp and all, into 
the cask. When all are in, cover closely with four or five 
thicknesses of woollen blankets; let it remain in this condition 
until fermentation has advanced sufficiently to cause the grapes 
or must (as I believe wine-makers call it) to rise to the top and 
begin to crack open, the cracks being filled with little yeasty- 
like bubbles, which will be probably in from four to eight or 
ten days, according to the temperature of the weather. Now 
have ready a perfectly clean barrel, purified with sulphur ; put 
into a pail ten or twelve pounds of sugar, take out the little 
plug, and let the juice on the sugar. As you fill the pail, stir 
the sugar occasionally from the bottom, so as to dissolve enough 
of it to make the juice sufficiently sweet. If the sugar should. 
all dissolve before the juice is all drawn out, of course put in 
more. When the barrel is full, put the bung in lightly, so as to 
give it a chance to ferment. The little cups you speak of were 
used more as an experiment than a necessity; when those were 
used, the bung was fitted in tight and a small hole made in the 
bung, and a tin tube inserted in it, rising from the bung, the 
long end being in the bung, and the short end in a little tin cup 
filled, and kept full of water, care being taken to keep the bar- 
rel always full ; but, as I said before, this was not necessary. 
After the juice had been barrelled, as above described, let it 
stand till some clear, cold day in February. Then draw off tho 
juice and put it in another barrel, care being taken to have it 
perfectly clean and well fumigated as the first was; save a pail- 
ful, and when all has been drawn off, stir into this pailful the 
whites of ten or twelve eggs, beaten to a froth, as you would 
for cake. When well stirred, pour this in the barrel with tho 
rest. After being well incorporated with that in the barrel, 
bung it up tightly, and for two years 'touch not, taste not, 
handle not, 1 and as much longer as you can resist the 



266 THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 

tion, as it improves from 25 to 50 per cent, in quality every year 
it is suffered to stand. The barrels should be kept in a dark 
cellar. 

"The above contains -all the most important particulars of the 
doctor's process of making wine, to the best of my recollection. 
Tt will answer very well where one only desires to make a 
little for his own use; but would hardly answer on a large 
scale. 

"Fumigating the barrels with a sulphur match destroys any 
musty or unpleasant smell which the barrel may have, and is 
done by melting flowers of sulphur or roll brimstone in an iron 
vessel on the stove; making a swab by rolling a rag around the 
end of an iron rod, saturate the rag with the melted sulphur 
as you roll it around ; stick the other end of thje rod into a 
good sized potatoe, and set fire to the rag or swab ; hang it in 
the barrel at the bung-hole, the potatoe will prevent it dropping 
down in th'e barrel." 



